There is an uproar and rightfully so about the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding stray dogs in Delhi NCR. Here is the news article – All Stray Dogs in Delhi NCR to Be Moved to Shelters Within 8 weeks, orders SC. There are arguments flying from every angle … some like this move, some don’t, many dog lovers dislike it and have already organised a protest.
Did you know ?
Netherlands is the World’s first country with Zero Stray Dogs.
How did they do it ? Just two steps ensured there were no strays – 1. Heavy taxes on “buying” a pup 2. Encourage free adoption.
They removed all the stray dogs to shelters, ensured they were neutered, vaccinated etc, but most importantly, they discouraged “buying” dogs and encouraged “adopting” dogs. Read this article for further details – The Netherlands: World’s First Country with Zero Stray Dogs – How They Achieved It.
Now, there is just one small problem with the strays in India. They are mostly “indie” dogs !!!!! Ah what will happen to my pug, lab, poodle, dahschund, husky, retriever, Lhasa apso, beagle, Shih Tzu……?
Indian dogs have become strays, while the “imported” foreign dogs are being “bought” for exorbitant prices. I have no problem with the price anyone pays for their pet, except, that just as the white skin of caucasian human beings burns in the tropical sunlight, these dogs suffer enormously being in a “foreign” land. Imagine a beautiful Siberian Husky, in the sweltering 45 deg C heat in Delhi NCR… it’s cruel. Some of them are well adapted, especially the short hair variety like the labradors, dahschunds and beagles, but the furrier the dog, the more it suffers.
I wish the Supreme Court orders a huge penalty on “breeding” foreign dogs and the Government pushes for “adopting” Indies versus buying a dog. All breeders must be certified and regular audits must be done to make sure that they are not making the animal suffer.
As far as the Supreme Court order goes, we don’t have enough shelters to house all the strays. That said, there have been enough dog bite cases to cause concern. This requires a lot more thought because just bundling all the strays into shelters will not solve the issue. The shelters that we do have, are also pathetic, ill-equipped to handle large volumes of strays. Just putting them into the shelters, packed like sardines is NOT the solution. Its cruel.
Do read the Swarajya article that came out July 11, 2025 – Why Every Dog Lover Should Be Horrified By India’s Stray Dog Crisis. I kept this article open on one of the tabs because I have been meaning to write about the Stray Dog situation for a while now.
Ten years back in 2015, I had written on the same topic with a different focus … but the point is the same Why not adopt ?.
Till every Indie stray dog is adopted, it should be uber expensive to “buy” a dog. Don’t know why but remembering Ratan Tata and the strays he “adopted” in the Bombay House. It’s important for celebrities to do what Ratan Tata did for the strays…. not flaunt the Shih Tzu’s but flaunt an Indie.
You have a wide variety to choose from – Pariah, Mudhol, Rajapalayam, Vikhan, Chippiparai, Kombai, Kanni, Bakharwal etc … and ofcourse the mixed breed Mongrel. They love you unconditionally just as any dog does, have fewer health issues because this is their homeland, and they are free, except for some of the specialist breeds.
Hope better “dog” sense prevails.