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Justice V K Jain said feeding dogs is both lawful and helpful and assists the municipal animal birth control programme in which dogs are sterilised and vaccinated area-wise.
“Feeding dogs makes them friendly and easier to handle,” the court held. “Citizens are free to feed dogs in areas to be mutually decided by the Animal Welfare Board of India and the feeder.”
As per the court’s directive, station house officers of 11 police stations — including Defence Colony, Vasant Kunj, Saket, Mehrauli, Geeta Colony, Kalkaji and Kamala Nagar — are required within two weeks to zero in on some sites in their localities where animal lovers could feed the strays without hindrance from abusive neighbours.
Delhi government’s counsel Meera Bhatia told the court that the department would do the needful in coordination with the Animal Welfare Board at the earliest and let the court know about the developments in the next report.
In August, the court had received seven petitions, including the main petition filed by the NGO ‘Citizens for the Welfare and Protection of Animals’, that complained of “repeated and continuous intimidation, abuse and threats, physical assault by residents of locality with an intention to desist and obstruct from tending to community dogs”. Seeking the court’s intervention so that the government protects their “life and limb,” the petitioners had also accused the police of “apathy” in acting on their complaints of harassment.
While the police had earlier claimed that that they could do little, as it was essentially the civic body’s (MCD) job, the petitioners had cited the Stray Animal Control Rules (Dogs), 2001, meant to protect street dogs from cruelty.
There are around 5 lakh stray dogs in Delhi, and MCD, in coordination with various NGOs, sterilises these stray canines.
Jasmine Damkewala, an advocate and a petitioner in the case, welcomed the verdict. Damkewala said the order meant protection for those who face harassment in performing their constitutional duty of showing compassion to all living beings
Earlier HC order, laws for protection of stray animals
In its judgment in the Maneka Gandhi vs MCD/NDMC case in 1992, the High Court had held that street dogs were a part of the city and just being classified as a strays did not mean they should be killed. The court had accepted that sterilisation and vaccination of dogs was the only scientific and humane solution of the so-called problem of street dogs.
* Harming, killing or subjecting any animal to pain and suffering is an offence under Section 11 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, and Sections 428 and 429 of the IPC. Punishment for these crimes includes a fine and imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
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This is a very good move. By feeding these dogs one can domesticate them and then it becomes easy to get them sterilized with the help of animal welfare non-profits and vets. And it becomes easy to vaccinate them against rabies. Also, this is a simpler long-term solution for the problem. If you kill dogs, more will come as that is an infinite and expensive proposition. The least dog-haters can do is appreciate the work being put in to make these dogs and even domestic dogs rabies free. Who said that only man has a right to live? infact the way we are going, mother nature is soon going to wipe out human species!
Aren%u2019t humans amazing Animals? They kill wildlife - birds, deer, all kinds of cats, coyotes, beavers, groundhogs, mice and foxes by the million in order to protect their domestic animals and their feed. Then they kill domestic animals by the billion and eat them. This in turn kills people by the million, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative - and fatal - - health conditions like heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and cancer. So then humans spend billions of dollars torturing and killing millions of more animals to look for cures for these diseases. Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals. Meanwhile, few people recognize the absurdity of humans, who kill so easily and violently, and once a year send out cards praying for "Peace on Earth." ~Revised Preface to Old MacDonald%u2019s Factory Farm by C. David Coates~
where are animal protection groups when lamb, chicken,beef fish and ---is so deliciously taken in wonderfull plates in beautifull hotel,Has dog some legal religious or ---protection against it being killed . I have been bitten thrice by stray dogs .It is not a pleasant experience and strongly advocate total elimination of this menace if it is not against law.
Really glad to run into like minded people...
thanks for upholding the right of dog lovers! Dogs are very faithful and loving. they normally do not bite without reason. Animal right activist should have more volentiers to take care of dogs area wise!