Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has come out in support of the Supreme Court’s recent directive to relocate stray dogs in Delhi NCR to shelters, a decision that has sparked debate among animal lovers and activists. Amid the backlash, Varma defended the apex court's stance through a series of posts on his official X handle on Monday (August 18).
He wrote, “A dog is loyal only because it doesn’t know how to be disloyal … and I say to all the radical dog lovers out there, when you say ‘Dogs are better than humans’ it’s a comment on the particular humans around you, and not really on your particular dogs.”
In another post, the filmmaker stressed the danger stray dogs pose to public safety, especially children. “Bottom line is anybody can love any god created creature whether it’s a human, dog, cat, mosquito, rat, corona virus etc as long as they are in their home, but here we are talking about stray dogs killing children on streets," he stated.
Taking a swipe at critics of the SC ruling, Varma remarked, “And if the dog lovers are blaming the government administrators, they should go and bite the officers and politicians on their legs and also various other parts of their bodies for them to speed up on solutions … But meanwhile they should think of the poor kids who are being brutally killed by street stray dogs.”
He concluded his note by referencing a popular school poem, arguing that not all creatures necessarily contribute positively to society.
"With regard to the great poem we have all been taught at school - 'All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all’ - dint take into accounts of cockroaches who contaminate, rats who spread plague, snakes which inject poison, mosquitoes which create diseases and stray dogs who kill children," he wrote.
Reacting to his post, while animal rights activists called the SC order regressive, others echoed Varma’s concern that the unchecked stray dog population poses a threat to public safety. The debate is now set to intensify as the Supreme Court re-examines its directive in the coming days.
The ruling, delivered last week, has drawn criticism over concerns of legality, feasibility, and fears that the move could pave the way for mass culling under the guise of relocation.
However, the court clarified that its directive also involves expanding shelters to ensure proper care for the animals. On Wednesday, August 13, Chief Justice of India BR Gavai assured an urgent review of a plea challenging the order.
