The
Supreme Court on Friday ordered that public spaces such as educational
institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway
stations must be fenced properly to prevent the entry of stray dogs.
The
court, in its order, also directed the state governments and the National
Highway Authority of India to remove stray animals from highways.
A
three-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria noted
the "alarming rate of dog-bite incidents", directing that the
concerned local self-government institutions will be responsible for picking up
stray dogs from such institutions or areas, and moving them to designated dog
shelters. The shifting of stray dogs will be done after vaccination and
sterilisation in accordance with the Animal Birth Control Rules, the court
added.
It
further directed that the stray dogs picked up from these areas must not be
released in the same area from which they were picked up. "Permitting the
same would frustrate the very purpose of liberating such institutions from the
presence of stray dogs," the court observed.
It
also directed the local authorities to carry out periodic inspections to ensure
that no stray dog habitat exists in such premises.