Delhi police arrest animal activists protesting Supreme Court order on stray dogs

Delhi police have arrested animal lovers and activists who protested against the Supreme Court's order to move stray dogs in the national capital to shelters. The activists protested against removing stray dogs from the streets.

Animal lovers and caregivers gathered at India Gate and protested against the apex court's order on Monday to shift all stray dogs to shelters in eight weeks. However, police immediately removed the protesters from the streets. "I am being detained because I do the noble work of feeding animals," a caregiver told reporters while she was being removed by police.

The Supreme Court, taking note of the stray dog menace and deaths due to rabies in the national capital, directed the Delhi government and local bodies to immediately capture stray dogs, detain them in pounds created across the national capital territory and never let them loose back into public spaces.

The apex court also had a strong warning for activists, dog lovers who may oppose the civic body's actions. “If any individual or organisation comes in the way of authorities picking up the stray dogs, we will take action against them,” the bench said. "If we come to know that the release of captured dogs has happened, we shall take stern action. If any person or organisation comes in the way of authorities picking up strays, we shall take strict action," the bench noted.

However, animal rights activists and NGOs condemn the Supreme Court's order. "They are not 'stray,' but community dogs. The solution for a happy community is 'sterilization,' not 'displacement.' Sterilization provides already-born dogs with a better chance at life and reduces human-animal conflict," PETA India said in a post on X.