SC order on stray dogs welcome step; RWAs should ensure govts implement it: Vijay Goel

The Supreme Court has ruled that the right to live with dignity includes protection from stray dog attacks, a decision welcomed by BJP leader Vijay Goel.

Senior BJP leader and an active campaigner against the stray dog menace in Delhi, Vijay Goel welcomed the Supreme Court order on Tuesday which asserted that the right of people to live with dignity included the right to move freely without the threat of harm from dog attacks.

The former Union minister lay blame on a ''handful of so-called dog lovers and dog feeders'' who he alleged kept people scared by lodging police complaints whenever anyone protested against stray dog attacks.

However, he does not think the Supreme Court order will provide instant relief from the problem.

''Despite the court order, there will still be laxity in dealing with this issue because the system itself is slack. In Delhi, there are still no shelter homes for dogs, no meetings have been held to discuss the issue or take feedback from people, designated places for feeding dogs are yet to be fixed,'' Goel told PTI.

Goel said he has written letters to the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to take action in this regard.

''All the resident welfare associations (RWAs) across the country should welcome the SC order and ensure that the state governments concerned take action to implement it,'' he said.

The former Delhi BJP president also said the problem of stray dogs has become so acute that the court was forced to say that killing rabid and dangerous canines should also be considered.

For the last few years, Goel has been working with RWAs to ensure government action against the issue of stray animals, especially the growing number of street dogs attacks.

Goel said the court also cited incidents of dog attacks on elderly and children. The problem is so grave that people desist from going to parks, he said, asserting that public places should be freed from stray dogs.

He lauded the court for saying that it will ensure ''strict action'' against those who obstruct the implementation of its order.

The BJP leader alleged that the sterilisation data submitted in the courts was ''inflated'' by the agencies, pointing if the data were correct why there were such large number of stray dogs everywhere.

''The NGOs that claim to be dog lovers and dog feeders should now keep quiet and let people live without the fear of stray dogs,'' he said.

The Supreme Court, while dismissing pleas seeking a recall of its earlier order on the relocation and sterilisation of stray canines, on Tuesday said the right to live with dignity encompasses the right to move freely without the threat of harm from dog bite attacks.

''The court cannot remain oblivious to harsh ground realities where children, international travellers and old age people have fallen victim to dog bite incidents,'' a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria said in response to the petitions by animal rights activists and others.

The court also issued a slew of directions to states, union territories and other statutory bodies to augment infrastructure to deal with stray dogs.

On November 7 last year, the court took note of the ''alarming rise'' in dog-bite incidents in areas such as educational institutions, hospitals and railway stations and directed that stray dogs be relocated to designated shelters after sterilisation and vaccination. Stray dogs picked up shall not be released back to their original place, the court said.