Animal lovers meet Delhi Mayor for ‘humane’ relocation of stray dogs

Animal lovers met Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal on Wednesday to discuss the Supreme Court’s order on relocating stray dogs, agreeing to work together and form a joint committee to ensure the process is humane, phased, and involves sterilisation and vaccination.

During the meeting, the mayor assured the delegation that the animals would be treated “as they would be in homes” and welcomed their offer of 500 volunteers to assist the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

The group suggested that aggressive or problematic dogs be relocated first, and only after shelters are ready, the mayor told PTI.

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Jitender, an animal lover who attended the meeting at the Civic Centre, said they were satisfied with the mayor’s assurances.

“We will work hand-in-hand with the MCD. Our focus is sterilisation, vaccination, and returning the dogs to their original areas once treated,” he said.

South Delhi resident Priya Chopra said they would coordinate with the MCD and police through the new committee. “Everything will be done in phases.”

Another participant said that the government and the Supreme Court should also consider where these dogs will go, as their number is above six lakh, and shelters are fewer than the number.

“It is better to sterilise them and release them back to the locations from where they were picked,” the person suggested.

The Supreme Court on Monday directed all the strays to be removed and put in shelters by the Delhi government and civic bodies of Gurugram, Noida, and Ghaziabad.

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A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan noted that there was an “extremely grim” situation due to stray dog bites resulting in rabies, particularly among children.