Shillong, Nov 29: Animal lovers from across Shillong has come together to pen letters to the Supreme Court of India urging it to stay its November 7 ruling on stray dogs and to adopt a humane and practical solution.
The order directs removal of stray dogs from institutional areas and to relocate them to properly designated shelters after sterilisation and vaccination under the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023.
“A compassionate, scientific and humanely driven approach is the solution, not exclusion, not experimentation and certainly not exile,” the animal lovers wrote.
Terming the order “unjust” the animal lovers said it was passed without hearing the parties, “unfair” as it requires animal activists to deposit a fee when there is no provision, “unscientific” because it does not follow the WHO endorsed method of capture, vaccinate, sterilise, and release of animals to their original place, “inconsistent” as it violated the 2023 Rules and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 previously upheld by the Supreme Court.
Further the animal lovers said the order is also “unsustainable” because they do not have the resources, infrastructure or manpower to house lakhs of animals on a lifelong basis.
The order is “unbalanced” because it talks of effects not the causes. It does not feature issues concerning animal cruelty, feeder violence, standards of media reporting, unregulated breeding and abandonment and unscientific waste management, the animal lovers said.
They also pleaded the Supreme Court that they do not want the country to be “artificially divided between animal welfare and human welfare when both interests are complementary, not conflicting.”
Thousands of animal lovers across the country have reportedly written to the Supreme Court seeking a review of the judgment as part of the nationwide letter-petition campaign. The initiative is being led by animal welfare activist Ambika Shukla.
The campaign encouraged people to visit their nearest post office on November 29 and mail a handwritten letter to the Supreme Court, highlighting concerns related to animal protection, justice, and compassionate policies.
