Protest erupts outside Delhi animal birth control centre over ‘cruelty’ to stray dogs

A protest broke out late on Friday night outside an animal birth control (ABC) centre at Rohini’s Sector 27 in Delhi, with animal rights activists alleging that stray dogs housed at the facility faced cruel treatment.

On Saturday, 46 sterilised canines were released from the centre and a team of 15 police personnel was deployed in the area.

The protest erupted after the Supreme Court earlier in the day modified its August 11 order and directed civic bodies to release stray dogs back into their neighbourhoods after sterilisation and vaccination.

The revised order allowed the retention of only those dogs that are aggressive or infected with rabies, a change from the earlier directive that mandated relocating all stray dogs in the Delhi-National Capital Region to shelters.

According to the Delhi police, nearly 200 people had gathered outside the centre at 10 p.m. on Friday demanding access to inspect the shelter. The protesters accused the centre’s staff of mistreating canines and killing them on the pretext of sterilisation. They also demanded the immediate release of stray dogs in accordance with the court’s revised order.

“We went there after receiving a call at 11 p.m. at the Shahbad Dairy police station. The protesters were trying to enter the centre forcibly. By 4 a.m., the situation was brought under control. Most of the protesters dispersed after we did a proper inspection of the centre and released two videos shot inside it,” a senior police officer said.

The police also allowed groups of five activists at a time to inspect the centre. “One person was detained briefly as  he was inciting the crowd. There was no assault, but there was a scuffle between the police and the crowd,” he said.

“All the dogs were found to be healthy, except for one that was under treatment. There were no signs of cruelty,” the officer said.

‘No evidence of abuse’

Ayesha Benn, who manages an ABC centre in Timarpur and was allowed inside the facility in Rohini, confirmed there was no evidence of abuse. “We didn’t find any proof of dogs being killed. But there were signs of poor hygiene, which violates the ABC guidelines,” she said.

“We made videos to show the protesters and calm the situation. While most of them were peaceful, a few kept pushing a false narrative,” she added.