New Delhi: Life of everyone, whether a human being or an animal, is important, the Delhi High Court said on Wednesday after an NGO sought directions to remove stray dogs from the streets of the capital calling them a menace.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by NGOs, Nyaya Bhoomi and the Society For Public Cause, seeking directions to Delhi government and municipal authorities to take action to address the “growing menace” of stray dogs and dog bites as well as frame guidelines for the purpose.
“Life of everybody is important, whether it is human or animals,” a bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva observed after the NGO sought removal of stray dogs from the roads of the capital saying they were a menance to the society at large.
It also urged the court to decide whether human life is precious or that of the animals.
The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) told the court that in order to control the menace of stray dogs, it was necessary that Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules 2001 be implemented in letter and spirit, maintaining that these rules were not being implemented.
“The street dogs population can be contolled and rabies eliminated, and the man-animal conflict can be effectively reduced only if the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) rules, 2001, enacted under Section 38 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act after receiving assent from Parliament in terms of Section 38A of the Act, are followed in letter and spirit by the local authorities, and all others,” advocate Anjali Sharma, who was appearing for AWBI, told the court.
She contended that this was their primary contention before the Supreme Court, as issues raised here were also pending consideration there.
Earlier, observing that stray dog bites were a menace, the court had directed the city’s municipal bodies to give detailed status report on how the rules for controlling the stray dog population were being implemented by them.
The municipal bodies, who have not yet given the reports, were asked to file it before September 30.
—PTI