A silent guardian, a watchful protector and certainly a man’s best friend. Dogs have been teaching us lessons in humanity since generations. Every now and then you hear stories in which dogs have turned out to be the eventual heroes. They are actually the most loyal animal to mankind.

But we often come across people who just hate dogs and cause harm to them for no reason. Time and again they look for a chance to throw stones at them and irritate them with stupid acts.

Amidst all this, people tend to forget that even these creatures have a right to live. This is exactly what the Supreme Court made everyone realize, in its response to a petition filed for killing nuisance-causing stray dogs.

Yes, Supreme Court came loud and clear on their verdict stating that ‘street dogs have a right to live’ and cannot be killed under any circumstance.

A complaint that was filed stated that street dogs should be ‘totally destroyed’ across the country as they have become a ‘nuisance’ to the public.

The SC was hearing petitions filed by People for Elimination of Stray Animals, who wanted the killing of dogs which created the nuisance. On the other side, there were animal’s right activists, who wished to protect them.

The complaint was filed on the basis of an old Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act which says that if the court receives a complaint that a dog has become a source of nuisance to the public, they can seize the animal and kill it.

But there’s another law in contradiction- Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960- which does not allow this.

The petition stated that these stray dogs must be killed as they created the nuisance, but interestingly the SC had a different take on this. After hearing out both the parties, SC passed the verdict that “Street dogs have a right to live” and can’t be killed under any circumstances.

Anand Grover, the Senior Advocate (Animal Welfare Board) stated that the term “Nuisance” is very subjective and just because a particular person thinks it is nuisance, it can’t be accepted universally.

He also added that,

“When a dog barks, for some people it is a nuisance. There is another angle to this. Most dogs behave in such a way because they are troubled by people throwing stones at it or when it is subjected to some sort of pain. The municipality cannot just seize these dogs and put them to sleep permanently.”

While we applaud SC’s decision, it’s disappointing to know that we live in the same society as people who want to kill innocent animals for no good reason.

However, Supreme Court’s took the right decision by protecting innocent animals. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know your views in the comments section below.