All animals have the right to live, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat asserted on Thursday, reacting to recent arguments in the Supreme Court on the handling of stray dogs in Delhi-NCR.
The stray dog menace can only be solved by regulating their population, and not by confining them to shelters, Bhagwat, who is a veterinary science graduate, said as per a PTI report.
“The problem can be solved only by regulating the population of street dogs. But, it cannot be resolved by putting stray dogs in shelters,” he said at a religious congregation at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack.
He cited an cultural instance involving a cow, too. While milking a cow, Indians take some milk and leave the rest for the calf, he said, calling it “the art of striking a balance between man and nature”.
Also read | Will Supreme Court stay Delhi stray dogs ruling? 3-judge bench reserves order
Earlier in the day, a three-judge Supreme Court bench reserved its order after hearing arguments afresh on the issue of stray dogs. This hearing came after an uproar caused by the August 11 directions by another bench that ordered removal of all street dogs in Delhi-NCR.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai had on Wednesday withdrawn the suo motu case on stray dogs from the bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan.
The larger, three-judge bench led by Justice Vikram Nath took up the matter on Thursday.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued against the blanket removal.
Earlier, a host of leaders from across the spectrum — political, cultural and scientific — criticised the August 11 order.
The India wing of the organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) termed the August 11 order to send all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to shelters “impractical, illogical, and illegal”.
During the fresh hearing on Thursday, the court said the problem is because of inaction by authorities in implementing the relevant rules.
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