More than 50 stray dogs collected by PMC for 2 months go, HC seeks release

The matter has now reached the Bombay High Court, which has agreed to hear a petition filed by an animal rights activist seeking the immediate release of 54 stray dogs detained by the PMC in the area.

The incident is the latest in a series of similar conflicts reported across the country, including the latest in Karnataka’s Kolar, UP’s Noida and ahmedabad in Gujarat.

In it Fist In this case, a petition filed in the Bombay High Court by activist Vineeta Tandon refers to the “incident that occurred on February 7” at a residential cooperative housing society “where the son of a worker between the ages of 5 and 6 has been injured for alleged dog bite by homeless people.”

The activist said in her petition that the recalled dogs “are all healthy, friendly, peaceful, vaccinated and sterilized community dogs and no biting incidents were reported from 2010 to 2023.”

The petition claimed “PMC dereliction of duty” and, pending the hearing, sought instructions to establish an investigative committee in each district of Maharashtra and also to implement the orders passed by the Supreme Court in this regard.

Pending the hearing, the petition also requested instructions to the state government and the PMC to release the captured stray dogs and send them “back to their original habitat within said society.” The pleading also sought instructions for the state to conduct an investigation into dog bite cases in and around the city of Pune and submit a report within a specified period of time.

When the matter came to hearing on March 15, a divisional court led by Judge Gautam S Patel noted that the complaints raised were “clearly of a PIL nature”.

The court asked the society to submit an affidavit to explain its position and views and said that it was not expressing any opinion on the matter at this time. Seeking affidavits from the defendant authorities and companies, the court adjourned the matter, which has yet to be heard.

When contacted, a PMC official said they had intervened after the issue became a “public order issue” with conflict escalating between members of the residential society who feed the stray dogs and other residents.

The official said they planned to release the dogs but faced opposition from members of society. “The agency that operated for PMC to implement the Animal Birth Control (ABC) program took in the stray dogs, but then faced opposition from residents to release them. The PMC is in the process of releasing the dogs in the area from which they were picked up and has sought police protection for that purpose. The PMC will soon release the dogs at the same location where they were picked up. This is by the rules,” the official said.

the indian express visited the society in Pune and found a sharp division between a group of residents who say the boy was bitten by stray dogs and another who said there was no conclusive evidence.

Video footage seen by The Indian Express shows the public space of the building, where cars are parked and at least four dogs lay on the ground. It shows the dogs suddenly running into the building, out of camera range. A few seconds later, the footage shows around five or six dogs running around and a boy walking out of the building and being attended to by 3-4 people who had gathered.

Society representatives did not provide immediate comment despite repeated requests, but a resident said the boy was the son of a maid and was taken to Sassoon hospital at the time. He has since recovered from his injuries, the resident said.

“They think the dogs are there because we feed them. What they don’t understand is that if dogs are fedthey sleep peacefully. I had helped get them castrated. There were only eight left to be neutered,” said Divya Singh, a resident who has been feeding some of the stray dogs.