CHENNAI: Heated exchanges between Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) officials and city-based animal activists over removal of stray dogs from the Madras High Court premises on Wednesday caused a furore on the court campus. The standoff outside the court erupted after the civic body dog catchers began removing stray dogs from around 5 am and taking them to the Pulianthope Animal Birth Control (ABC) centre.
A total of 27 dogs were caught, of which two were puppies, the activists said, adding only 22 were brought to Pulianthope, while others were probably taken to Manali ABC centre.
Heated arguments continued until around 4 pm, with activists opposing the removal of dogs and insisting that the canines be released back, as most of them were already sterilised. GCC officials, however, maintained that the dogs could not be released and suggested that the activists adopt them instead.
Calling it a ‘non-viable solution’, the activists argued removing these dogs will not serve the purpose as other dogs would ultimately enter the campus. They said catching dogs without having designated shelters is not right and it’s not a proper administrative decision. Also, asking activists to adopt them is impractical as many do not have sufficient space, they added.
However, following police attempts to detain some protesters, the activists agreed to adopt the dogs. They also said most of the dogs caught early in the morning were captured by ‘untrained dog catchers’.
The GCC’s move to remove strays followed a direction proposed by the Madras High Court’s building and security committees at a joint meeting held on December 10. The committees – citing paragraph 25(E) of the apex court’s directions in writ petition (civil) no. 5 of 2025 dated November 7 – had submitted a representation to GCC commissioner J Kumaragurubaran, directing the civic body to remove all stray dogs found within the court premises, beginning with the high security zone (CISF-covered areas), while ensuring that no harm is caused and that the animals are safely housed, fed and cared for in ‘designated shelters’.
However, Sumita Pai, an animal activist, said the order cited in their petition was only an interim order of the apex court and not a final judgment.
The order does not mention court premises anywhere, she said, adding that “two months ago, 19 dogs were caught here, and three of them had already died at GCC’s Kannamapet ABC pound”.
E Martina, another activist, said, “ABC centres are meant only for the sterilisation of dogs. The Pulianthope ABC centre has the capacity to accommodate about 100 dogs, primarily those brought in for sterilisation and kept there for post-operative observation. These facilities are not designated shelters,” she said.
According to the activists, the GCC had recently said in addition to two shelters under construction in Manali and Perungudi, private organisations and NGOs would be roped in to permanently house the dogs being caught. “But why are such removals being carried out sans the shelters, or without the NGOs being roped in?” the activists asked.
GCC veterinary officer was unavailable for comment.