The Supreme Court of India has issued a stern warning to the Union and state governments over the escalating stray dog menace, stating that hefty compensation will be imposed for every death caused by dog bites. A three-judge bench, including Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N.V. Anjaria, expressed frustration at the repeated failure to implement Animal Birth Control (ABC) rules effectively.

The bench said, “We are going to take the Union government and state governments to task. This problem has been neglected for decades. Parliament has been discussing it since the 1950s, yet the issue has multiplied a thousand times. Complete failure on the part of the authorities. For every man, woman, and child who loses their life due to a dog bite, the government responsible will face heavy compensation.”

The court criticized arguments that downplayed the threat posed by stray dogs and stressed that some claims presented before it were “far from reality,” pointing to multiple instances of dogs attacking children and the elderly.

While hearing petitions filed by dog welfare activists, including actress Sharmila Tagore, the court noted that complaints of harassment of women dog feeders by vigilante groups were beyond its jurisdiction, as these incidents fell under law and order matters. Senior advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani highlighted that some individuals, acting in the name of enforcing court orders, had been intimidating and physically assaulting women involved in feeding and caring for stray dogs.