Delhi High Court Disposes Plea Seeking Directions For Establishment Of State Animal Welfare Board

In the absence of such a Board, the plea filed by animal rights activist Sangeeta Dogra avers, there is misappropriation and mismanagement of Funds allocated for Animals Birth Control and Anti Rabies vaccination programme.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh noted that the despite several representations already being preferred by the Petitioner, two in the year 2020 and one in August 2021, no reply was given by either the Department of Animal Husbandry or the Animal Welfare Board of India.

"We therefore direct the Respondents to look into grievances in this petition and decide the same expeditiously," the Bench said while granting liberty to the Petitioner to move an appropriate authority in law in case of any future difficulty.

The plea also sought incorporation of municipal bodies over private NGOs for animal birth control anti-rabies vaccination programmes.

"As per Animal Birth Control Dog Rules 2001 all the municipal bodies in assistance with Private NGO's were expected to conduct mass scale sterilization surgery and anti-rabies vaccination of Street Dogs," the plea stated.

However, it alleged that almost all the funds are directly being allocated by Animal Welfare Board of India to non-govt animal welfare organizations, bypassing the municipal local bodies.

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Case Title: Sangeeta Dogra v. Department of Animal Husbandry