No hindrance, whatsoever, shall be caused to the persons in carrying out any activities in respect of the street dogs at the said spot… If any of the street dogs is injured or unwell, it shall be the duty of the RWA to secure treatment for such dog by the vets made available by the MCD or privately from the funds of the RWA, it said.
Any person having compassion for stray dogs can feed them at their private entrance or driveway of their house or any other place not shared with other residents but no one can restrict the other from feeding of dogs, until and unless it is causing harm or harassment to them, it said.
The court said it shall be the duty of the resident welfare association (RWA) or Municipal Corporation and all government authorities including enforcement authorities like police to provide assistance and ensure that no hindrance is caused to the care-givers or feeders of community dogs and every canine has access to food and water in the absence of care-givers.
Community dogs (stray/street dogs) have the right to food and citizens have the right to feed community dogs but in exercising this right, care and caution should be taken to ensure that it does not impinge upon the rights of others or cause any harm, hindrance, harassment and nuisance to other individuals or members of the society, Justice J R Midha said in a recent 86-page verdict.
It said community dogs have to be fed at areas designated by the AWBI in consultation with the RWAs or MCDs and while doing so, the authorities have to be conscious of the fact that every community dog is a territorial being and they must be fed and tended to at places within their territory.
What are the benefits of feeding stray dogs?
They’re scavengers, so they eat rodents wherever they live. That means lesser chances of diseases for everyone. Also, in colonies where people feed these strays – they become loyal. They keep the locality secure at night.
Responsible Feeding Practices
A great way to contribute towards feeding stray dogs in India is to take part in dog feeding drives. However, if you are undertaking a solo project, follow these practices to learn how to feed stray dogs and ensure a safe and responsible feeding procedure.
Educate yourself about the rights of stray dogs: Please read through hundreds of articles that we have written about the legal rights of stray dogs in India. Also, read about common medical issues that you may encounter with stray dogs and ways to treat them safely and effectively.
Use biodegradable/disposable cutlery: Since you’ll be carrying huge amounts of food, it’s a good idea to have disposable plates to serve the stray dogs. When the feeding is done, make sure to dispose of the cutlery neatly in the nearest trash can. If you don’t have this, use newspaper pieces and ensure you pick them up in a trash bag once the dogs have eaten and dispersed.
Pick a feeding spot: The survival instincts in stray dogs help them develop a keen sense of understanding where and when to go in order to gain access to food. By picking a safe spot that is fairly away from the daily commute of your neighbourhood, you can ensure a safer and undisturbed feeding routine
Set a feeding time and be consistent: When you start feeding stray dogs in your community, you take up the huge responsibility of making sure these animals are kept in the best of health conditions. Make sure you do not make the stray dog dependent on you for food. So do not overfeed or feed too many times in a day. Stick to a routine and follow it. Stray dogs have to scavenge for their food and the idea of feeding stray dogs is to make them friendly so they are easy to catch for spay/neuter operations, easy to handle when they are sick or injured and also for the yearly anti-rabies vaccination. Set a feeding time, preferably before 7 o’clock in the morning or after 5 o’clock in the evening and make sure you are where you need to be every day. Breaking the routine could be disastrous, as the stray dogs will keep waiting for you not knowing that you won’t be available. Make sure you pair up with a family member or friend for feeding so that if you can’t feed the dog due to work or illness, someone else will be able to manage your responsibility.
Do not pet stray dogs: While you are feeding stray dogs, remember to not treat them like pet dogs. Firstly you won’t take them all home and they may not all get adopted. So for them their life is going to be on the streets and they need to know that it is good to maintain distance from people as not all people like dogs. If you make a dog overly friendly with yourself, the dog may go and jump on an unsuspecting person looking for affection and may end up scaring that person if that person does not like dogs! Inturn the dog can get kicked, beaten, etc. So to avoid such issues, it is best to not pet stray dogs or make them overly friendly like pet dogs. Maintain a good distance from them. Feed them and walk away. Do not whistle for the dogs to come when you bring food! This is a terrible habit that many stray dog feeders have. The dogs associate the whistle to food time and rush from across the road when they hear it. This leads to accidents and deaths. So please leave food for the dogs silently in a designated area. If they are not there, they will surely come due to the smell of the food. Treat stray dogs in a way which makes them confident and smart to survive on the streets. Do not make them dependent on you in any way.
Avoid feeding two packs of stray dogs at once: Dogs can be very territorial in nature, and that especially extends to a pack of stray dogs who tend to settle in a locality they find suitable to rest in. If you are out for a feeding drive, make sure you pick a spot that is very specific to one particular pack of stray dogs. Feeding a pack too close to another one might lead to unwanted aggressive confrontations between the two packs.
Look! Stray Dog Asked Me to Stop and Feed Him
In another case of a housing society violating animal protection laws, few residents of Lodha society in Thane confronted another member for feeding stray dogs. This whole incident was recorded by the member who was feeding the stray dogs, and the video shows how the other members were reacting even after being told that there are laws which allow people to feed stray dogs even inside society premises.
This video has been doing rounds on social media for the past few days, where a woman is seen arguing with another woman who was feeding the dogs. When asked not to do it, she replied that the area was a common area where she has been feeding the dogs for a long time, and it was her right to perform such activities to which another resident again said that the dogs could not be fed here.
It was at this time that the resident who was feeding the dogs told the rest about the animal protection laws, and again, it was at this moment that another male resident wearing a blue shirt and black trouser entered the conversation and said that they would complain and get the dogs picked up from the area. She told him that these dogs had been neutered, and it is also a fact that neutered dogs cannot be relocated from the area.
Then the members started saying that the dogs run behind children to which the member who was feeding the dogs asked for proof. The society members were refused to produce any evidence which indicates that either they were making excuses or the dogs were provoked by the residents. Even after repeatedly being told about the laws, how the residents were behaving only shows how blatantly they disregard the laws of the country.
While going through some more similar cases, I came across a social media post by a resident of the society who stated the behavior of the residents towards the stray dogs and how they harass anyone who feeds the dogs:
“Women who feed strays and love them are being targeted, ABUSED & THREATENED, PUPPIES ARE beaten up, poisoned—it’s cruelty to the hilt.
On 28th November 2019, 4 pm I was feeding the strays and the puppies. A resident of platino G stopped me from feeding them and used abusive language; he clicked my picture and said “poore Lodha main lagaunga”, his name is Surya Narayan Pandey. He also said “tu sham ko khana khilane aa kaise khilati Hain dekhta hun”, it was a an open threat to a woman.”
Such behavior of society residents cannot be tolerated, and it is also illegal to stop someone from feeding stray dogs, but the unfortunate part is that generally, the police officials don’t take such cases seriously—as they are already overwhelmed with other cases. It is this reason that such societies violate laws because they know that no severe punishment will be awarded to them.
But for once let’s consider their argument that stray dogs make the area dirty; this does not mean their feeding should be stopped. In my society, which is coincidentally near this particular society, we not only feed the stray dogs who reside in our society but also have employed enough staff members who ensure the area is cleaned. This process has been done with the full cooperation of the society members, as the dogs in our society were neutered. As they could not have been relocated, the society members made the efforts to ensure that they and the stray dogs co-exist, and this process has been successful. Hence, the argument that dogs make the place dirty, hence should not be fed is nothing but a baseless excuse.
This case also shows that this particular society is not the only one violating the laws; there are probably many other societies doing so. Hence, it is also the duty of the law and order machinery to ensure that such violations do not occur—because if people start to violate laws like this as per their discretion, then others will also start disregarding the laws as per their convenience. Such a scenario only points towards a lawlessness situation.
In conclusion, I would again state that Sections 428 and 429 of the IPC (Indian Penal Code), as well as Cruelty towards Animals Act of 1960, says that no animal should be harmed purposely. Looking at this case, it seems that the residents of the society in question have already violated these laws, which raises serious doubts regarding the implementation of laws.Also read: