Can India adopt a humane solution to stray dogs issue?

On January 28, the Supreme Court will hear representations from all States and Union Territories on the stray dog issue

Community dogs in India are found everywhere, across all 28 States and 8 Union Territories. Their tail-wagging presence cuts through human attempts to segregate villages or cities along lines of class, caste and religion. Loved and cherished by many — but also feared and persecuted — these fellow beings are truly pan-Indian citizens who are among our oldest neighbours and companions.

The present case in the Supreme Court will decide the future of animals that are not in a position to plead their own cause before the honourable judges. Crucially, this case will also set a precedent for how India chooses to deal with many other fellow species whose lives are lived around humans — even as humans push further into their territories.

Pragmatic compassion is not yet embraced as a core judicial principle in India, but has worked wonders from Norway to Bhutan, and in other countries that have effectively brought down street dog populations and lowered deaths from rabies while rejecting inhumane and ineffective solutions such as mass culling.

No one wants fellow citizens to be bitten by dogs or to die of rabies. All groups should, logically, strongly support nationwide schemes for the mass vaccination of community dogs, and should demand that anti-rabies vaccines be made widely and freely available across the country.

Animal lovers want the population of community dogs to be controlled in the hope that in the future, far fewer animals will have to suffer harsh and hostile conditions on the streets. Those who are indifferent to animals also want the population of community dogs controlled to minimise interactions. Even though their feelings may differ, it helps to acknowledge that all groups are actually in broad agreement on desirable outcomes.

A woman with her pet dogs at the ABC centre in Pulianthope, Chennai. | Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam