Supreme Court dismisses plea for action against cruelty in dog birth control centres
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition seeking directions to the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to take effective action against cruelty to dogs in animal birth control centres and shelters across the country.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed the plea, which also sought a direction to the Centre, states and Union territories to ensure that no municipal body or local authority engages an animal welfare organisation for conducting animal birth control operations unless it holds a valid project recognition certificate from the AWBI.
The petition highlighted that under the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, no animal birth control programme for street dogs shall be conducted unless the local authority or animal welfare organisation has obtained a certificate of project recognition. The counsel for the petitioner referred to the top court's May 19 verdict, which had directed states and Union territories to take time-bound steps to improve infrastructure for effective implementation of the animal birth control framework.
The bench, however, simply stated “Dismissed” without elaborating on its reasons.
The plea had further sought that all animal welfare organisations that have not renewed their project recognition after five years should immediately apply for renewal, and those without valid recognition should cease operations until they obtain it. It also asked the AWBI to conduct regular inspections of such centres and initiate action against organisations and individuals responsible for cruelty to animals.
In a significant verdict on May 19, the Supreme Court had allowed euthanasia of rabid, incurably ill, dangerous and aggressive dogs, stating that the right to live with dignity includes the right to move freely without threat from stray canines. The court had also dismissed petitions seeking recall or modification of its November 7, 2025 order, which directed the relocation and sterilisation of stray dogs from institutional areas such as educational institutions, hospitals and railway stations after noting an alarming rise in dog bite incidents.
