Between Tails and Truth



 Of late, I’ve been seeing endless discussions about the recent Supreme Court orders regarding the establishment of dog shelters and the relocation of stray dogs. What saddens me is not the ruling itself—it is the way the conversation has unfolded. The debates are filled with extreme positions, with little space for nuance, compassion, or logic. And in this storm of opinions, my own mind finds itself divided.

On one side lies humanitarianism, the belief that every living being has the right to space and survival. Dogs, after all, have lived alongside humans for thousands of years. They are our companions, protectors, and, as we often call them, man’s best friend. Shouldn’t they too have the right to share our cities?

But on the other side stands human logic and science—the realities we cannot ignore. Stray dogs on the streets are not the abandoned pets of yesterday. Generations have passed, and what we now see are animals born and bred on the streets. They survive not because we cared for them, but because we indirectly sustained them through our careless habits of open littering and food waste. Like any wild animal, hunger drives them, and our urban jungles have become their hunting grounds.

What many forget is that dogs, though domesticated, are still pack animals by instinct. And a dog pack is perhaps one of the most dangerous urban threats—fearless, territorial, and unpredictable. We’ve seen such packs not only in Delhi but in Kerala, Mumbai, and countless other cities, attacking children, cyclists, and even the elderly. To me, these are no longer “strays”—they are urban wild dogs, evolving into a population of their own.

And therein lies the danger. These animals cannot be released into the forests—their numbers are too high, their survival tied to humans, and their spread of disease a pressing reality. India already bears the world’s highest burden of rabies, a disease with no cure once contracted. Most strays are neither vaccinated nor sterilized, and with each litter producing 5 to 10 puppies, the cycle repeats endlessly.

Yet, the dilemma deepens. The animal lovers who oppose the Court’s ruling often do so in the name of compassion. But if their love is genuine, why aren’t they stepping forward to adopt these dogs, vaccinate them, and give them homes? Isn’t that the truest form of care? Instead, it is saddening that it took the Supreme Court to push authorities into action, while protests still rage against a stray-dog-free Delhi.

I confess—I am torn. My heart aches for the dogs that wag their tails and seek scraps of kindness, yet I also fear for the child mauled on her way to school or the elderly man bitten in the quiet of the evening. Compassion cannot be one-sided.

And so, if every household cannot willingly open its doors to these animals, then perhaps it is best that the law takes its course.

Because at the end of the day, this is not about choosing sides—it is about acknowledging a truth too painful to ignore: our cities are no place for unchecked packs of urban wild dogs, no matter how much we wish otherwise.

SSP

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