The Supreme Court on Friday directed authorities across the country to remove stray dogs from public places such as schools, colleges, hospitals, bus stops and railway stations and relocate them to canine shelters.
It said that dogs and other stray animals such as cows must be removed from the national and state highways. It did not specify at what distance from the highways stray animals would be allowed to roam.
After being rounded up and sterilised, the stray dogs must not be allowed back in their former neighbourhoods, the court said in what is being seen as a severe setback for dog lovers.
The directives are part of measures to combat the rise in stray dog bites, rabies-related deaths and road accidents caused by stray animals.
Children, the elderly and the poor bear the brunt of dog bites, being not just vulnerable but also lacking timely access to post-exposure prophylaxis, the court said. That some of the victims have been foreign visitors, it added, threatened India’s reputation as a tourist destination.
The bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice N.V. Anjaria said all central, state and Union Territory authorities, including the chief secretaries and other senior officials, must comply with the directives.
It sought compliance reports, adding: “Any lethargy in this regard shall be viewed seriously.”
Quoting various studies, including some by the World Health Organisation and the National Centre for Disease Control, the bench said rabies accounted for a large proportion of animal-related deaths in India.
It said that more than 90 per cent of rabies cases in humans resulted from bites by stray or pet dogs.
“The implementation of these Rules (Animal Birth Control) has been ineffective, to say the least, across jurisdictions and the persistence of stray dog population has continued to imperil public safety in many parts of the country,” Justice Mehta, who authored the judgment, said.
Some of the key directives:
- States, Union Territories and local authorities must within two weeks identify all government and private educational institutions, healthcare facilities, sport complexes and stadiums, bus terminals, and railway stations within their territorial limits.
- They must, under the overall supervision of the district magistrate, ensure that the premises are secured against stray dogs with the help of fencing, boundary walls and gates. This should preferably be completed within eight weeks from Friday.
- The management of every educational institution, hospital, sports complex, bus stand and railway station should designate a nodal officer to look after upkeep and cleanliness and ensure that no stray dog enters or settles inside.
- Civic and panchayat bodies must carry out regular inspections, at least once every three months, of all such premises to ensure there are no stray dog habitats inside or close to them.
- Local bodies are responsible for removing any stray dog found inside these premises and shifting them to designated shelters after sterilisation and vaccination.
- Government and private hospitals must maintain stocks of anti-rabies vaccines and immunoglobulin at all times.
- The Union education ministry must instruct every educational institution to conduct awareness sessions for students and staff on preventive behaviour around animals (safe interaction), first aid in case of bites, and immediate reporting protocols.
- Stadium and sports complex managements must engage security personnel specifically for 24x7 vigil against stray dogs.
- The Animal Welfare Board of India will, within four weeks, issue detailed standard operating procedures for the prevention of dog bites and the management of stray dogs on institutional premises, public and private, across the country.
- All local bodies, state transport and public works departments, and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) must ensure the removal of cattle and other stray animals from national and state highways and national expressways falling within their areas.
- These animals should be placed in designated shelters.
- Each authority must form 24x7 highway patrol teams and/ or assign existing road-safety units to conduct continuous surveillance and respond immediately to reports of strays obstructing roadways. The patrols must coordinate with local police stations, vets and local bodies.
- Helpline numbers must be prominently displayed at regular intervals along the highways, allowing travellers to promptly report the presence of stray animals or accidents caused by them. These helplines will be linked to police control rooms, NHAI and the district administration.