'60 Million Homeless Dogs In India & No Shelters': PETA India Reacts To Maharashtra Cabinet's Stray Dogs Removal Order After SC's Directive, Calls It 'Recipe For Cruelty & Chaos'

Mumbai: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India criticised the Maharashtra government's order directing civic bodies to round up stray dogs from public spaces, calling the move "unworkable and harmful".

In an exclusive statement given to The Free Press Journal, the animal rights group warned that the plan to relocate dogs to shelters would "deepen existing challenges" and ignore scientific solutions long-recommended for managing India's street dog population.

The state government’s resolution comes after a Supreme Court directive issued earlier this month, ordering all states and union territories to remove stray animals, including dogs and cattle, from highways and key public areas. Maharashtra has now instructed local bodies to capture and relocate dogs from bus stands, depots, college campuses, railway stations and similar spaces. The cabinet has also ordered setting up designated feeding zones and helplines for citizens to report dog-related cases.

PETA India calls order 'detached from reality'

In a statement given to us, Shaurya Agrawal, Advocacy Associate, PETA India, said the combined impact of the Supreme Court order and the state’s resolution would be "disastrous for community dogs". The organisation said, “The Supreme Court’s directive and the Maharashtra Government’s Resolution to round up dogs from everywhere, from bus shelters to college campuses to be imprisoned in imaginary shelters is nothing short of a recipe for cruelty and chaos.”

Agrawal argued that India’s estimated 60 million homeless dogs cannot be accommodated in shelters, highlighting that “there are very few to no government shelters in India” and that existing ones are already “overflowing with nearly 9 million dogs and cats waiting to be adopted.” The group questioned how authorities that struggle to fund sterilisation programmes would suddenly manage “crores on building shelters and feeding and housing millions of dogs.”

The organisation also urged governments to prioritise nationwide implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, describing sterilisation and vaccination as the only sustainable method to stabilise dog populations. PETA India further pressed for shutting unregistered pet shops and breeders, promoting adoption, and supporting neighbourhood dog feeders to maintain positive human–dog relations. It cited statistics from General Hospital Ernakulam showing that companion dogs accounted for the majority of bite cases in a six month period, arguing that community dogs are not the primary source of risk.

Maharashtra cabinet’s order on stray dog removal

The Maharashtra cabinet’s order was issued nearly four weeks after the Supreme Court instructed states to remove stray dogs from 'sensitive' public areas. The government has asked municipal corporations, councils and nagar panchayats to remove dogs from locations such as educational institutions, hospitals, sports centres, bus depots and railway premises, and to ensure they are not released back into the same areas.

The resolution also mandates the creation of designated feeding zones for community dogs and directs action against residents feeding dogs outside these zones. Civic bodies must establish helplines for complaints and follow the ABC Rules for capturing, sterilising, vaccinating and tagging dogs. The government also warned officials that non-compliance may result in personal responsibility.

Supreme Court’s nationwide directive on stray animals

On November 7, the Supreme Court ordered authorities across India to remove stray animals from national and state highways and public spaces and to relocate them to designated shelters. A bench led by Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria directed governments to identify high risk locations and undertake coordinated drives for removal and relocation.

The court instructed that patrol teams be deployed round the clock, helpline numbers be displayed along highways and compliance be monitored by chief secretaries and the National Highways Authority of India. States and union territories are also required to submit compliance affidavits within eight weeks detailing mechanisms for relocation, patrol deployment and helpline operations.

Published on: Wednesday, November 26, 2025, 03:32 PM IST