Justice astray? The Supreme Court’s dog order is unfair and impractical

The cruel irony of this order lies not in its intent to protect Indian citizens from rabies—a legitimate concern—but in its apparent ignorance of ground realities. 

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First, this approach reveals an absence of scientific understanding. Every animal welfare expert can testify that mass sterilization and vaccination programmes—properly implemented—represent the only humane and effective long-term way to control stray animal populations and prevent the spread of diseases like rabies. 

Countries worldwide have successfully controlled stray populations through such programmes, which not only reduce numbers over time but also result in healthier and less aggressive animals. Yet the order ignores decades of evidence in favour of a medieval roundup that is likely to cause canines immense suffering. 

Second, the order demands the impossible: moving thousands of dogs to shelters that simply do not exist. Delhi’s infrastructure cannot accommodate even a fraction of the estimated stray population, yet this inconvenient truth has been ignored. 

The predictable consequence has already begun to unfold. Stray dogs have been rounded up by untrained municipal workers using coercive methods—nets, ropes and batons—that cause trauma to animals whose only crime is existing without a human custodian. These creatures, many of whom have lived peacefully in neighbourhoods for years, are being torn from familiar territories and crammed into overcrowded shelters where conditions are so stark that survival becomes a matter of chance rather than care.

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The cost of this folly will extend beyond the animals themselves. Community dogs often serve as informal guardians for neighbourhoods, deterring theft and providing companionship to many. Their sudden removal creates both security and emotional voids that the order has not taken into account. Meanwhile, the resources being diverted to this futile roundup could have helped fund sterilization programmes that would actually address canine overpopulation.

The cultural implications of the order are also troubling. India's rich philosophical traditions— particularly Hinduism's principle of ahimsa (non-violence)—emphasize the interconnectedness of all living beings. The concept of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam"—the world is one family—explicitly includes all creatures, not just humans. By treating stray dogs as a problem to clear the capital region’s streets of, rather than living beings deserving of compassion, the directive has reinforced the very hierarchical thinking that reduces the moral worth of vulnerable lives. 

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The dozens of animal welfare organizations and concerned citizens protesting the court order are not obstinate activists—many of them are experts. They understand there is a more reasonable way to do things. This should inform our policies and their implementation. These are compassionate people who understand how we needn’t be cruel to achieve safer streets and lower the risk of rabies infections among humans bitten by rabid dogs.

The Supreme Court has taken up the matter again with the formation of a three-judge bench to look into it. On Thursday, the bench reserved its judgement on a plea seeking a stay on the directive. This re-examination of the order offers a glimmer of hope, but decisive action is needed. 

The court should rescind the directive, return the dogs that have been captured before the matter was fully heard in court, and mandate a comprehensive sterilization and vaccination programme instead. Delhi's government should be ordered to create actual infrastructure for animal welfare, not hastily constructed camps that could result in high canine mortality.

As citizens, we must demand better. Justice without wisdom is mere power, and power without compassion becomes tyranny. The stray dogs of Delhi may be voiceless, but we are not. Their fate is a test. True justice protects the vulnerable.

The author is founder and executive director of the JustJobs Network.