OUR CANINE FRIENDS DESERVE A LOT MORE

A five-judge Constitution Bench, while upholding amendments permitting practices of Jallikattu, Kambala and Bailgada Sharyat, has refused to state that animals have a fundamental right to life, but observed that animals must be protected from unnecessary pain and suffering.

- Niranjan Deshpande

This is a backlash to the animal rights movement.

There is an urgent need to purge the notions that Indian dogs are not suitable for public shelter or rescue or rehabilitation, shopping for a pet is safer than adopting, and feeding strays can lead to a population explosion. These are part of the argument that animals cannot derive a right to life.

It needs to be emphasized that dog vans can be used to deal with issues such as birth control, rabies and dog bites; they do not stop people from feeding dogs. Rule 11(3) of Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, provides a provision for publishing public notices or putting up banners before catching dogs with rabies or for vaccinations.

Rule 11(6) provides for sheltering animals in animal birth control centres, and Rules 11(11) to (14) provide for keeping dogs for 12 hours before surgery.