Dog-free city: Will Delhi-NCR face monkey, rat invasion? Maneka Gandhi warns of Paris-like crisis

The Supreme Court’s directive to clear Delhi-NCR’s streets of stray dogs and relocate them to shelters has ignited a fierce debate, with critics questioning the order’s practicality and potential ecological repercussions. The ruling, issued on Monday, mandates the immediate removal of strays from public spaces across Delhi, Gurugram, Noida and Ghaziabad.

Animal rights activist and former Union minister Maneka Gandhi has strongly opposed the move, labelling it “impractical” and “financially unviable”, as per an NDTV report. She warned that forcibly displacing strays could disrupt the region’s ecological balance, triggering an influx of other animals.

“Within 48 hours, three lakh dogs will come from Ghaziabad, Faridabad, because there’s food here in Delhi,” Gandhi said, as cited by NDTV. “And once you remove the dogs, monkeys will come on the ground... I’ve seen this happen at my own house.”

Drawing a historical parallel, she cited 1880s Paris, where the mass culling of stray dogs and cats led to a rat infestation. “When they removed dogs and cats, the city was overrun with rats,” she said, emphasising that dogs serve as natural rodent controllers.

The Supreme Court’s order raises pressing logistical concerns, including the capacity of shelters and the long-term sustainability of housing lakhs of strays. As NDTV reported, animal welfare groups fear that rapid displacement could lead to territorial shifts, worsening human-animal conflicts in neighbouring areas.

In the late 19th century, Paris authorities viewed stray dogs as carriers of rabies and filth, prompting large-scale extermination efforts. However, the sudden absence of canines reportedly caused a surge in the rat population, with rodents spreading from sewers into homes.

While historical accounts confirm efforts to control rabies by removing strays in 1883, documented in the research paper ‘Stray Dogs And The Making of Modern Paris’, the alleged simultaneous culling of cats remains contested. Notably, historian Robert Darnton’s 1984 book ‘The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History’ references a separate incident in 1730, where printing apprentices killed cats, unrelated to public health measures.