Stray Animal Menace In AIIMS, Courts Concerning; Difficult For People Particularly With Disabilities To Even Walk On Road: Delhi High Court

While hearing a public interest litigation petition on attacks by strays such as monkeys and dogs on persons with disabilities in the city, the Delhi High Court orally called for the adoption of an approach balancing the rights between both stray animals as well as PwDs and a mechanism to deal with the same. The court however orally said that the "City cant be in such a shabby condition that it gets run over by the strays", asking the Chief Secretary to convene a meeting with various stakeholders to discuss the issue and prioritise that hospitals in the city, which are used by the public to get treatment and which need to remain clean, are free from strays. It was also directed, with the consent of parties, that monkeys shall be shifted from Delhi to the Asola Wildlife Sanctuary. A division bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was hearing a batch of pleas including a petition moved by Dhananjay Sanjogta Foundation challenges the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 on the ground that they are violative of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPwD), 2016 to the extent that they fail to address the issue of stray animal attacks on Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). During the hearing the today the court orally said, "Society as a general, comprises of various groups including people who are suffering from disabilities and they have a genuine problem...it is a very important petition, and an important issue flagged by them. No where in the world will you find a whole city is taken over by monkeys and dogs. They also have to be treated with respect. Therefore some mechanism may have to evolved that the persons with disabilities are also not troubled by these stray animals. And people are able to walk in the streets of Delhi. Today it is impossible to walk in the streets of Delhi. Even if you have a pet, I cant take my pet out for a walk because there are so many strays and the strays will attack...Its a genuine problem".Cannot have strays in hospitals, need a balance"We cannot have this problem where children are being bitten and they cannot play in the parks. You cannot have strays in the hospitals. AIIMS cannot be infested by stray dogs and monkeys. People have gone there for an operation. They have to live there in a very clean environment. So there is a genuine problem. And we need to balance the interest. Lets not go over board on either side. Lets have a balance. We will treat the strays with respect but human beings also need to be treated with respect. No where in any city in the world you will find that the strays will run over the city. You go to any developed economy whether London or Paris you don't find strays roaming around. You don't find monkeys roaming around like that. There are a large number of monkey bites which are taking place in this city. Therefore we will have to evolve a mechanism. And we trust that you will also give good suggestions," the bench orally added. The court further orally said that every now and then, a complaint gets flagged that someone has been bitten by strays. It orally emphasized that if someone is coming and feeding the dogs, it must be ensured that the food is not used by other strays. The court further added that indiscriminate littering the place with food must not happen. Monkeys in Tis HazariGiving an example of monkeys flocking court premises, the court orally said, "Animals like staying in the jungle. They like their own habitat, you cant bring them to the main city. For instance, in Tis Hazari you cant use that complex after 4' o clock. It will be taken over by monkeys. These are court complexes, institutions where people have to work. We are not able to perform. We are not able to take care of the litigants of the public's needs. This is misplaced sympathy must also not be there".Difficulties faced by PwDsWith respect to difficulties faced by persons with disabilities with respect to strays, the court further orally said, "Persons with disabilities have a genuine problem, they are saying we cant walk. They say that we (visually impaired persons) use a stick, and the strays think we are coming to attack them. They are being attacked and mauled. They say that they cannot walk the streets of Delhi, that cannot happen. Persons with disabilities also need their space. You try and go to Lodhi garden with your pet, it will get attacked. That should not happen". The court then asked the concerned officials about specific ways in which the issue can be addressed. The official present in court said that population control is a major issue and for that animal birth control (ABC) should be implemented by local bodies but not in a haphazard manner. The official said that according to the data they have sterilised most of the dog population in the NDMC areas. PwDs have a right to walk without being bittenThe court however questioned that if this program is effective then how come dog population is increasing manyfold year after year. It said, ...

Stray Animal Menace In AIIMS, Courts Concerning; Difficult For People Particularly With Disabilities To Even Walk On Road: Delhi High Court

Malavika Prasad

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