Maneka Gandhi Urges Humane Review of SC Order on Stray Dogs
Gandhi said removing the dogs from the region alone would not solve the problem
By : ANI
Update: 2025-08-14 05:15 GMT
New Delhi: Amid the debate over the Supreme Court's ruling on stray dogs in Delhi, animal rights activist and BJP leader Maneka Gandhi urged the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to review the decision "with love," saying that the goals of both sides are the same.
Speaking to ANI, Gandhi said removing the dogs from the region alone would not solve the problem.
"Nobody favours the ill-treatment of animals. They believe that if animals are taken away, their children would not be bitten. I agree with that. But the animals would not go away. If we remove 3 lakh animals from Delhi, 3 lakh more would come in within a week from Ghaziabad and Faridabad. If those additional 3 lakh are removed, more would come in because there is abundant food in Delhi," she said.
She called for addressing related issues such as illegal chicken centres and unlicensed shops, adding,
"You have more than 50,000 illegal chicken centres in Delhi. You have meat shops that function without a license. So, the law should come into effect for that too. Otherwise, it would never end."
Gandhi urged the CJI to find a humane and effective solution, saying,
"I would want the CJI to review it with love and see what the best way is, because our goal is the same. We too want fewer dogs, we want no biting, and we want humans and dogs & every animal to live in peace."
Following criticism, the Supreme Court on Wednesday clarified that its directive to remove stray dogs from all localities in Delhi-NCR was not taken on "momentary impulse" but after thorough and careful deliberation.
A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan said the move was prompted by the "systematic failure of the authorities" over the past two decades to address an issue directly impacting public safety.
In its detailed order, the apex court said its directions were in the interest of both humans and dogs, noting that it had examined prevailing circumstances, heard affected parties, and reflected on a disturbing rise in dog-bite cases nationwide.
Earlier, on August 11, the court ordered that all localities in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Faridabad should be made free of stray dogs with no compromise, and that no captured animal should be released back on the streets.