Stray Dogs: SC Says Culling Only In Accordance With Law; No Indiscriminate Killing

The Supreme Court today said there cannot be indiscriminate killing of stray canines and any culling should only be in accordance with law.

“When did this court say dogs have a bigger fundamental rights than human being. We are only on one aspect that culling should only be in accordance with law”, Justice Dipak Misra, heading a bench told Sabu Stephen, one of the petitioner who favoured elimination of dogs.

On January 17 the court had expressed shock at a submission that such canines should be completely destroyed across the country and said the strays too have a right to live, and there cannot be any blanket order for culling.

“Look, there cannot be any such blanket order.Though culling of stray dogs was permissible, there has to be a balance and a proper method for this. Please keep this in mind”, the bench had observed.

During the hearing, the bench said in Kerala, there were issues of human concern but for this all stray dogs cannot be killed. A person can die due to dog bite. It is an accident and for that, we cannot say kill all the stray dogs, it said. The bench was also informed that a panel headed by former Kerala High Court judge Sri Jagan had received around 400 matters related to dog bites and it was working on it.

On November 17 the court lashed out against vigilante groups in Kerala indulging in culling of dogs and also encouraging the illegal act and asked the state government to take strict action against them including lodging of criminal cases.

The bench had also banned imparting of training to the children or  distribution of subsidized airguns for people to kill stray dogs or to publically propagate that there is war against the stray dogs.