New Delhi [India], August 14 : Amid the debate over the Supreme Court's ruling on stray dogs in Delhi, animal rights activist & BJP leader Maneka Gandhi urged the Chief Justice of India to review the decision with love and mentioned that "our goals are the same.
While talking to ANI, Maenka Gandhi highlighted that removing the dogs from the region is not enough and added, "...Nobody favours the ill-treatment of animals. They believe that if animals are taken away, their children would not be bitten. I agree with that. But the animals would not go away. If we remove 3 lakh animals from Delhi, 3 lakh more would come in within a week from Ghaziabad and Faridabad. If those additional 3 lakh are removed, more would come in because there is abundant food in Delhi."
She addressed the illegal chicken centres and unlicensed shops, asking for a better system to address these issues as well in order to deal with the stray dog problem.
"You have more than 50,000 illegal chicken centres in Delhi. You have meat shops that function without a license. So, the law should come into effect for that too. Otherwise, it would never end..."
Gandhi urged the CJI to review the decision with love and added, "I would want the CJI to review it with love and see what the best way is, because our goal is the same. We too want fewer dogs, we want no biting, and we want humans and dogs & every animal to live in peace..."
Following the criticism, the Supreme Court on Wednesday clarified that its directive to the authorities in Delhi-NCR to begin removing stray dogs from all localities is not driven by "momentary impulse", rather, it came after thorough and careful deliberation, that the concerned authorities have consistently "failed for over two decades" to effectively address a serious issue that directly impacts public safety.
A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala R Madadev said that the apex court has decided to take the matter in its hands becasue of the "systematic failure of the authorities" over the past two decades to address an issue that strikes at the heart of public safety.
According to the detailed order released today, the apex court said, the directions given by it, as a court which functions for the welfare of the people, are both in the "interest of humans as well as dogs. This is not personal," it said.
Earlier on August 11, the apex court ordered that all localities in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad should be made free of stray dogs and there should not be any compromise.
It also made it clear that no captured animal will be released back on the streets.
Releasing the detailed order, the top court said that it has, over a considerable period of time, examined the prevailing circumstances, heard the voices of those who have been directly affected and reflected upon a disturbing pattern of dog bites in the country.