Court says no more a nation that fears its dogs more than it loves its children

New Indian Express

13 hours ago

Finally, the Supreme Court has said what everyone is too scared to post on Facebook for fear of being cancelled by barking activists, 'stray dogs must go.' Not to a 'shelter,' not to a 'rehabilitation zone,' not to the soft-focus Instagram feed of some NGO, but away from the residential streets where they hunt, bite, and kill. And for once, those who don't follow the law, be they activists, organisations, or self-proclaimed guardians of canine dignity, will face consequences. It's absurd that this even needs saying. Packs of feral dogs roam colonies like a medieval curse, mauling children, tearing at the elderly, dragging down cyclists, and, in the most grotesque cases, killing infants in their homes. Rabies, an affliction most of the developed world last saw in history books, still kills thousands here every year. In Bijnor, 60‑year‑old Munni Devi was killed by a pack of stray dogs while collecting fodder. A 30-year-old woman was mauled to death in the same district by strays in January 2022; previous victims included a seven‑year‑old girl. In Balangir district, Odisha, a 26‑year‑old para-athlete Jogendra Chhatria and a villager died of rabies following a bite from a rabid stray dog.
Doggone it, when a Rottweiler bites to kill, it's euthanised without hesitation. But when a stray murders, the story shifts to 'human encroachment on animal territory' or 'provocation by the victim.' This year, a 13‑year‑old boy in Samastipur district was killed by stray dogs. A two-month-old baby was mauled to death in Porbandar, Gujarat in July 2025 by a pack of four to five dogs while asleep in a crib outside its home. A newborn, just three hours old, was mauled to death by strays which entered an open hospital window in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh—he died of extreme blood loss. In Sitapur district, again in UP, 14 children were killed by 'man‑eater' stray dogs—pets that consume body parts of their victims. A seven-month-old baby in Noida was killed by the stray squad, triggering widespread protests. In 2023, nine women were killed by packs of man-eater dogs in Begusarai, Bihar. In Hyderabad the same year, a four‑year‑old boy was fatally attacked by three strays on a deserted street; the graphic footage was circulated widely. A 70‑year‑old retired UNICEF doctor was attacked and killed by blood-thirsty dogs on the campus of Aligarh Muslim University. A stray dog carried the bloody body of a newborn into a residential area.