After SC's stray dog order for Delhi-NCR, Madras High Court's big hint

The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court reportedly urged Tamil Nadu to implement SC's order on relocating stray dogs to shelters, following similar directives for Delhi-NCR.

A day after Supreme Court directed civic authorities to pick and house all stray dogs in Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) in dedicated shelters within eight weeks, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court said it would consider directing the Tamil Nadu government to implement in the state the apex court's order on managing street dogs in Delhi, according to a report by NDTV.

A bench was hearing and disposing of a batch of petitions relating to stray animals — one on stray cattle, another on street dogs in general, and a third on the menace of dogs inside a temple that had allegedly bitten devotees, causing injuries and raising fears of rabies.

During the submission, petitioners presented an alarming data, claiming that Tamil Nadu had already recorded 3.67 lakh dog bites and 20 deaths due to dog-bite-related rabies this year alone. The judges, reportedly said they would issue combined formal orders after studying the Supreme Court's detailed guidelines.

Supreme Court's directions were given in a case the top court took up suo motu on July 28 after what it said was a “very disturbing and alarming” newspaper report about the death of a six-year-old girl due to rabies.

The apex court, until the August 11 judgement, observed last month, while taking up the case suo moto, that law warrants the protection of street dogs, but the authorities will have to bear in mind the concern of common man, such that their movement on streets are not hampered by dog attacks.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday slammed the Supreme Court's order to remove all stray dogs from Delhi-NCR localities, calling it a "step back from decades of humane policy". Gandhi voiced for the "voiceless souls", saying that the move is "cruel", which "strips people of compassion".