The Heartless Roundup of Stray Dogs in Preparation for the G20 Summit in New Delhi

The Heartless Roundup of Stray Dogs in Preparation for the G20 Summit in New Delhi

Author: Muhammad Ayaan Ali, a student at Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia

INTRODUCTION:

The Congress party recently posted a shocking video on X (formerly Twitter) released by an animal rights group called People For Animals (PFA). The video shows stray dogs being captured by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) personnel and staff with remarkable cruelty all across Delhi amidst preparations leading up to the G20 Summit held from 8 to 10 September in the national capital. The dogs are seen being captured using metallic wires and dragged by their necks into cages. The Congress party alleged that the video was a demonstration of the massive scale drive involved in capturing stray dogs in preparation for major events. This is not the first time the MCD has faced such allegations.

ANALYSING THE LEGALITY OF THE DRIVE:

According to the Animal Welfare Board of India and Prevention of Cruelty (Animal Birth Control) Rules, 2023, the MCD and similar bodies are allowed to capture stray dogs in order to sterilise them, but they must be released after this process. However, the MCD’s mass capturing of stray dogs all across Delhi is in clear violation of the provisions laid down under the ABC Rules. According to the allegations, the MCD picked up the dogs in the most cruel and arbitrary manner and failed to maintain proper records of all the dogs captured. 

The scale of the recent drive was such that facilities for relocation of the dogs became scarce, owing to the sheer number of the dogs captured. The MCD responded by refuting the allegations, and assured that the dogs had been captured on an ‘urgent basis’ and would be released soon. It also denied the claims of the dogs being ill-treated in captivity. Activists and animal rights organisations across the capital continued to allege that the dogs be released and the ill-treatment stopped.

The Delhi High Court, on 11 September, directed the MCD to initiate the process of returning the stray dogs back to their localities while ensuring that all the provisions under the ABC Rules are strictly adhered to. The damage however, has already been done, and any prospect of reassimilation of the dogs into their respective localities seems bleak.

CONCLUSION:

The reason behind this sudden capturing of community dogs in Delhi is obviously related to the G20 summit. The MCD, in an attempt to hide the stray dog problem from guests from outside the country, completely ignored the safety and health of the lives it was pursuing. The blatant disregard for animal rights has raised more than a few eyebrows among activists and animal rights organisations across the nation. Are we so ashamed of our problems that we would go to any heights to root them out or sweep it all under the carpet?

The MCD’s relentless pursuit of the stray dogs and their inhumane removal displays the dark side of the Indian G20 leadership. On one hand, India is advancing across various fields and gradually becoming the global power that our leaders envisioned it to become. On the other hand, the complete disregard for animal rights and of basic human morals shows how long a way we still have to go.