Overview
- The Supreme Court’s May 19 judgment said authorities may use legally permissible measures, including euthanasia, for rabid, incurably ill or demonstrably dangerous or aggressive stray dogs after veterinary assessment.
- Following the ruling, municipal bodies reported a spike in complaints seeking action and began drafting shelters, pounds and euthanasia protocols with officials saying euthanasia will be a last resort.
- An NGO, Animals Are People Too, asked the Supreme Court on May 24 for an explicit safeguard that the order not be read as permitting indiscriminate culling and sought police directions to prevent unlawful killings.
- On May 25 the Supreme Court refused to entertain that plea, told petitioners to approach the relevant high courts that it has tasked with suo motu monitoring, and set the next full hearing for November 17, 2026 after consolidated compliance reports.
- The legal framework requires actions to follow the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, with euthanasia to be decided by verified committees and carried out humanely by qualified veterinarians using approved methods such as intravenous sodium pentobarbital.