The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday passed a nationwide order to uphold the Prevention to Animals Cruelty Act, marking an end to the indiscriminate and often violent killing of street dogs.

When areas such as Kerala proclaimed a war on dogs and called for the killing of large numbers of street dogs, animal activists and organizations were outraged. Prompted by fears of rabies or simply deeming street dogs as a nuisance, municipal leaders completely disregarded India’s Prevention to Animals Cruelty Act, specifically the Animal Birth Control rules. The ABC rules spell out the only proven method to manage large street dog populations as well as rabies concerns: a sterilization and vaccination program.

IDA India was among the animal welfare organizations to petition the Supreme Court on behalf of the dogs. We are thrilled to see the Supreme Court pass the order that protects India’s dogs and pleased to report that it applies to all Indian territories and states.

IDA India President, Fiza Shah, stated, “The fear that corporations will kill dogs indiscriminately in the name of nuisance is now gone. The civic bodies will now have to follow humane ways to control the dog population as per the Animal Birth Control rules. The order was very much required to stop the wrong practices.”

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