HYDERABAD: Animal welfare activists on Tuesday expressed concern over portions of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on stray dogs, particularly observations relating to euthanasia and relocation, while welcoming the apex court’s emphasis on strengthening implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme.
Activists said the Court rightly highlighted the “sporadic, underfunded and uneven” implementation of sterilisation and vaccination programmes across the country, but warned that some directions could trigger panic-driven responses by authorities or residents hostile to community dogs.
Pradeep Parakuth, an activist associated with ABC, said the Court’s recognition of the need to strengthen sterilisation and vaccination efforts was significant. “Animal birth control is a scientific programme. The idea is to sterilise, vaccinate and release dogs back into the same territory so populations gradually stabilise,” he told TNIE.
Activists said poor public awareness and inconsistent implementation by municipal bodies remained major obstacles to effective stray dog management. They stressed that ABC programmes would succeed only through community participation involving residents, elected representatives and civic authorities.
They also expressed concern over the Court’s observations permitting legally permissible measures, including euthanasia, in cases involving rabid, incurably ill or demonstrably dangerous dogs.