Rajasthan Becomes First State to Enforce Supreme Court Order on Stray Dogs

Rajasthan Becomes First State to Act on Supreme Court Order on Stray Dogs.

Rajasthan has become the first state to implement the Supreme Court’s directives on stray dog management, issuing detailed guidelines for municipal bodies across the state.

All urban local bodies have been asked to submit compliance reports to the state government within 30 days. Under the order, sterilisation, rabies vaccination, and deworming centres will be set up in every city. Stray dogs will be treated, sterilised, tagged, and then released back into the same locality.

To ensure transparency, CCTV cameras will be installed in animal birth control (ABC) centres and operation theatres. Only trained teams will be authorised to catch dogs, using nets or by hand, while puppies under six months will be exempt from sterilisation.

The government has also directed the formation of monitoring committees in each city, comprising NGO members and animal welfare workers, to oversee implementation. Municipal bodies must maintain records of sterilisation, vaccination, deaths, and feeding of stray dogs.

According to the Animal Welfare Board of India, the cost has been fixed at ₹200 for catching each dog and ₹1,450 for sterilisation, food, and post-operative care.

The move follows last week’s Supreme Court observations warning against blanket orders to round up strays without adequate infrastructure. The court emphasised that under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, sterilised, dewormed, and vaccinated dogs must be released back into their original localities.