Delhi divided over feeding stray dogs after Supreme Court order

Days after the order issued by the Supreme Court in India, the case of stray dogs in Delhi was raised to the spotlight, tensions in the city rose. Animal lovers say they face hostility and sometimes even violence to sponsor impurities, while people who believe that dogs should be outside the streets arguing that they can be aggressive and two dangers.

The Mega Malhotra was nourishing stray dogs in its residential complex for about two years.

Every evening, you put food in a place for temporary nutrition near the building’s exit gate. “I enjoy taking care of them and feeding them,” she says.

But in recent weeks, I have been increasingly anxious among the population every time you put food. She says that some faced her, and she insisted on stopping the feeding of animals.

Mrs. Malhotra says that she usually prefers to remain calm in such cases. But recently, there were cases that had to be more severe.

Such confrontations have become frequent in Delhi and many Indian cities, where civil authorities are wrestling with a large number of stray dogs. Those who feed dogs do this out of sympathy, and those who oppose this are increasingly citing dog bites and attacks, some of which were also fatal.

Animal lovers argue that a lot of confusion stems from the last Supreme Court’s order, which sparked a polarized discussion: How should India manage stray dogs in the densely populated cities?

In August, the court amended its previous direction, which requires the transfer of all stray dogs in Delhi to the shelters. Instead, he eliminated that dogs must be arrested, vaccinated, sterilized and returned to their neighborhood – but with a warning, aggressive dogs and those who carry rabies to shelters must be transferred.

The court also banned feeding feeding lines in public places and asked the civil authorities to appoint specific areas where dogs could be given food.

But some residents explained this as a comprehensive ban on dog feeding.

Dog careers have long claim that they are harassed, assaulted and threatened, and often by their neighbors, who now believe that feeding nutrition is illegal. In some cases, residents tried to get rid of dogs from feeding sites to discourage people from providing them with food.

“There is fear in people’s minds [that the dog would attack them]. “What they do not get is that these animals only need love and care,” says Ms. Malhotra.

Delicious dogs are familiar to Indian cities, especially in Delhi, which can have nearly one million chain – although no official number has been implemented in the past decade.

Most of these dogs are not brutal. Instead, they are dealt with as “societal animals”, and they live alongside people and rely on them on food. From the colonies walled to tea stalls on the side of the road, they are woven in the tissue of daily urban life.

However, an increasing number of people in Delhi and their towns are satellite that they fear dog bites and argue that they will harm safety and sanitation around their homes and public places. Packages of stray dogs can often be seen chasing children and the elderly.

“My husband and my husband are afraid to send our children to play without supervision. What happens if a dog bites them? Who will be responsible?” Chita Singh, a resident of North Delhi, says.

Government data appears There are 3.7 million cases of dog bites across the country in 2024, which were reported more than 25,000 Delhi.

Although there are a large number of stray dogs, India does not have a comprehensive policy to manage it beyond the birth control program (ABC), which aims to reduce aggression and population through sterilization and vaccination.

In Delhi specifically, there are 25 ABC centers working under a simple mandate: sterilization and vaccination of stray dogs, and then return them to their original neighborhoods. However, these centers are exaggerated and often face challenges in obtaining money for non -welded operations.

Meanwhile, according to what was reported, municipal officials in Delhi began working on location to feed dogs according to the court’s order.

Hindustan Times newspaper I stated that the sub -committee on stray dogs has decided that sewage workers in each region will work with people and residential luxury bonds to determine these sites.

BBC contacted the mayor’s office and wrote to municipal officials to comment, but she did not receive a response.

Activists say the authorities need to move quickly to create these spaces, while ensuring that the nutrients do not attack in the meantime.

“The nutrients were never the issue. It is an important part of the solution.” “They are the ones who guarantee the sterilization and vaccination of dogs. They are the ones who keep them cute.”

The shelters agree. The sterilization engines are more efficient when local care providers participate.

“The nutrients help us to identify dogs, and their presence makes it easy to receive and download them in trucks. Most of the time, we do not even need bags or ropes,” says Depac Nagar, who runs in the shelter.

In the absence of a clear strategy to deal with the problem, experts believe that sterilization and vaccination remain the best long -term solutions because dog residents contain Delhi.

“Sterilization is the only way to move forward,” says Ms. Chocolate, adding that the method also helped reduce rabies compared to the previous contract.

However, experts say that at least 70 % of stray dogs in an area must be sterilized to break the reproductive cycle and effectively reduce their population.

For nutrients such as MS Malhotra, the debate is more than just numbers. It is related to awareness and coexistence.

“One side needs to understand that animals need sympathy, not sticks and cages. The other side [those feeding] It should also be more responsible. “Food should be placed in a safe angle, not in front of elevators or entrances,” she says.

“The solution lies between sympathy and caution.”

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