Supreme Court rejects plea seeking direction to prevent cruelty to dogs in animal birth control centres

The Supreme Court on Monday (July 27, 2026) refused to entertain a plea seeking directions to the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to take effective steps to address the issue of cruelty to dogs in animal birth control centers and shelters.

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The Supreme Court also dismissed the plea seeking directions to the Centre, all States and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure that no municipal body or local authority shall appoint any animal welfare agency to conduct animal birth control operations unless it has a valid project recognition certificate from the AWBI.

According to the Animal Birth Control Rules 2023, no animal birth control program for stray dogs shall be carried out unless the local authority or animal welfare organization obtains a project recognition certificate for running such program within the rules.

The petitioner’s counsel briefed a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta about the recognition certificate of the project.

The lawyer also referred to the high court’s May 19 order, which issued a series of directions, including asking states and UTs to take time-bound steps to strengthen the necessary infrastructure for effective implementation of the animal birth control framework.

The court panel said, “He was dismissed.”

The plea sought a direction to all animal welfare organizations whose project recognition has not been renewed even after completing five years of recognition to immediately apply and seek renewal from AWBI.

It also sought a direction that all animal welfare organizations that fail to obtain renewal of project recognition from AWBI should immediately cease conducting any animal birth control operations until they obtain valid renewal of project recognition.

The claim asked to instruct AWBI to “take immediate and effective action to prevent and address the rapid increase in cruelty to dogs in animal birth control centers and shelters across the country, including regular inspections of such centers and initiating action against organizations and individuals responsible for animal cruelty.”

In a landmark ruling on May 19, the Supreme Court allowed the euthanasia of rabid, incurably ill, dangerous and aggressive dogs, eliminating the threat to human life, saying that the right to live with dignity includes the right of stray dogs to move freely without the threat of harm.

The Supreme Court rejected the petitions and applications to recall and change its decision dated November 7, 2025, including the directive on the transportation and neutering of stray dogs from institutional areas.

In its decision in November 2025, the Supreme Court noted that there was an “alarming increase” in dog biting incidents in institutional areas such as educational institutions, hospitals and train stations, and ordered that stray dogs should be immediately transported to designated shelters after the necessary neutering and vaccination procedures.

He had conveyed directions in a suo motu case regarding stray dog ​​menace.