Animal welfare groups to protest against SC order on stray dogs on Jan 4

Mumbai: Animal welfare groups and NGOs across India decided to launch a ‘Do Or Die' movement on January 4, in a final bid to appeal to the Supreme Court to stay their cruel order of putting all stray dogs in shelters.Some activists are also calling it Do Or Die-2, while recalling that Mahatma Gandhi originally gave the clarion call of Do Or Die in 1942, while fighting for India's independence."We animal lovers now have to fight for the freedom of stray dogs, so that they can live freely and not be locked up in shelters. We are appealing to the SC and govt authorities on January 4 that it is impractical and cruel to pick up dogs and lock them up in shelters. The Animal Birth Control Rules of 2023 is the only legal and humane way to curb the dog population," said Ambika Shukla of People for Animals (PFA) NGO.Hundreds of online messages will be relayed on X, Facebook and other social media platforms, in order to make them trend on January 4, while peaceful street demonstrations will also be held in various cities and towns.In Mumbai, the Pure Animal Lovers (PAL) Foundation will hold a protest march in the Lokhandwala area in Andheri (West) as part of the Do Or Die movement that day."If our judiciary system cannot protect the weakest in our society, then we need to look within to see if karuna (compassion) has any relevance now in our country. Also, the statistics of dog bite cases have been highly inflated on social media. The sterilisations can be properly done in all civic bodies by curbing corruption and misuse of funds given for neutering of dogs," said Roshan Pathak of PAL.Pathak added that they may also boycott the forthcoming BMC elections in Mumbai if the govt is adamant about "arresting" stray dogs.Activist Vijay Rangare, who newly formed the animal welfare group called Rakshak, said: "There are not enough shelters to put all the stray dogs in. Also, if the dogs are cramped in shelters, they can catch a viral disease from any sick animal there, leading to deaths. The SC order of November 7 is actually a death sentence for our healthy indie dogs."Navi Mumbai-based dog feeder Pranali Auti said: "As the title suggests, this stands as the final appeal to the Hon'ble Supreme Court and govt officers to consider the matter compassionately and, most importantly, to grant a fair hearing, giving an opportunity to animal welfare to present its case.""The call to ‘Do or Die' was put out during India's freedom struggle. Today it goes out again to protect the lives and freedom of India's street animals who have been condemned to jail. January 4 marks the date when Indians all across the nation will unite and speak up for those with no voice, no choice. We will expose false figures and cases, we will demonstrate the unfeasibility of mass sheltering, we will highlight what research and experience prove, we will establish how ABC is the only way forward," added Ambika Shukla. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Happy New Year wishes, messages, and quotes !