Is a Humane Stray Dog Plan Enough When Climate Change Looms?

New Delhi, Aug 13 (NationPress) The philosopher and author Acharya Prashant has called for a humane and comprehensive strategy to manage stray dog populations, in light of the Supreme Court's order to transfer all strays from Delhi-NCR to shelters within eight weeks.

“While I recognize the issue the Court aims to address, I disagree with the proposed solution,” stated the recipient of PETA’s Most Influential Vegan Award.

He acknowledged the challenge posed by uncontrolled stray dog populations, pointing out that India's estimated 60-70 million street dogs would be the 20th most populous 'nation' if counted separately.

In Delhi-NCR specifically, there are nearly one million strays, he mentioned. Each year, rabies claims around 20,000 lives in India, with dog bites impacting approximately three million people.

Despite respecting the Court's intentions, he argued against the method. Relocating every stray to shelters in eight weeks is, he claimed, unrealistic. The nationwide shelter capacity is significantly inadequate, and costs could surpass Rs 15,000 crore. He warned that overcrowded shelters risk becoming breeding grounds for disease and neglect.

Furthermore, he highlighted that global evidence suggests that mass removal can create a “vacuum effect,” attracting new unsterilized dogs. Without a humane framework, shelters could merely become overcrowded holding areas of despair. Dogs, he emphasized, deserve space, exercise, and freedom, rather than confinement in cages.

He pointed out that effective models already exist. Many Western countries have successfully addressed their stray issues through Trap–Neuter–Return (TNR): capturing, sterilizing, vaccinating, and returning the animals to their habitats. This method, combined with pet licensing, microchipping, stringent anti-abandonment laws, mass rabies vaccinations, and responsible feeding practices, can gradually diminish populations and lower disease risk.

Acharya Prashant advocated for achieving a 70 percent sterilization rate in each district to significantly reduce rabies risk, alongside humane shelter reforms and community education that connects feeding with sterilization.

Regarding the activism sparked by the order, he praised the initiative to advocate for another species but cautioned that focusing solely on one species might overshadow larger, more pressing issues.

“Dogs are not endangered; their numbers reach into the crores. In contrast, over 1,000 species in India face critical endangerment or vulnerability, and countless species disappear globally each day due to human actions,” he remarked, as the founder of the PrashantAdvait Foundation.

He identified climate change, deforestation, and industrial animal agriculture as the main factors driving mass extinction, with only 8-10 domesticated species now constituting 96 percent of the world’s total animal mass, while millions of wild species occupy the remaining 4 percent.

“If you genuinely care for animals, your primary battle must be against climate change — advocating for forests, clean rivers, and habitat protection. A species can become extinct without direct killing; merely destroying its habitat can suffice. We need to consider the millions of species we may never encounter again,” he urged.

In conclusion, he reiterated that the stray dog dilemma must be addressed “humanely and comprehensively,” with compassion for street dogs as enduring companions to humanity, while not allowing the focus on one visible species to distract from the climate crisis threatening countless neglected species.