There have been widespread protests across India—and even abroad—against the Supreme Court’s cruel, senseless ruling to remove stray dogs from Delhi NCR. Animal lovers and activists have hit the streets, shouting, marching, getting detained, and still refusing to be silenced. Why? Because this isn’t just about dogs. This is about justice, compassion, and calling out the rank hypocrisy of a system that pretends to protect but in reality scapegoats the voiceless.

The Protests They Want to Dismiss

From Ramlila Maidan to Connaught Place to Karol Bagh, hundreds of people came out demanding the withdrawal of this order. Their slogans were clear: sterilise, vaccinate, care — don’t cage and kill. The police, of course, were ready. Activists were dragged, shoved, even detained like criminals — for daring to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

And it’s not just Delhi. Mumbai, Lucknow, Chennai, Jaipur, Siliguri, Bengaluru, Pune, Ghaziabad — all saw protests. In London, Indian expats stood outside the High Commission, because cruelty travels across borders and so does outrage. Almost 4 lakh signatures on petitions in a matter of days — and yet the Court calls itself the voice of justice?

What Protesters Are Actually Saying

Throwing lakhs of dogs into overcrowded, filthy shelters isn’t “management.” It’s mass cruelty. It’s death by neglect. Sterilisation and vaccination work. They work everywhere they’ve actually been implemented properly. But our governments never put real money, infrastructure, or honesty behind these programmes. This isn’t about safety. This is about appearances. About pushing a problem out of sight, so middle-class guilt can be tucked away with the dogs themselves.

The Numbers They Don’t Want You to Compare

Yes, rabies deaths in India are tragic — between 5,700 and 18,000 a year. But do you know what else happens here? I was in shock seeing a disabled woman being chased by men on bikes. Then I read what happened to her. Then I read the story of a 19-year old who was raped and murdered gruesomely. And guess what the numbers are? Over 31,000 rapes are reported annually. Over 4,00,000 crimes against women in a single year. Murders. Dowry deaths. Honour killings. Domestic abuse. Suicides from persecution. And those are only the reported numbers.

Tell me — where is the suo motu outrage from the Supreme Court then? Where are the urgent orders, the midnight hearings, the threats of contempt for inaction? Why are dogs punished for existing, while women are told to “adjust”?

The truth is unbearable: dogs are easier to cage than men are to reform.

Also, there has been a notable case in India where a dog saved a woman from harm, including an attempted rape. In Vasai, a brave stray dog reportedly saved a woman from a horrific attack by a 7-foot-tall assailant, preventing the crime. This incident highlights the heroic intervention of the dog to protect the woman from the attacker.

Additionally, there are other instances where pet dogs have come to the rescue of their owners or women in danger, including one case in South Delhi where a pet dog foiled a robbery attempt on a woman.

These incidents demonstrate dogs’ significant role in protecting humans in dangerous situations in India.

The Shelter Lie

Delhi has nearly a million stray dogs. The city can “shelter” maybe 4,000. That’s it. The maths is simple. What they call “sheltering” is just a polite word for mass death. We’ve seen it before — disease outbreaks, fighting, illegal culling. Shelters become graveyards.

And yet the government wants us to believe this is compassion? Spare me.

The Real Problem

The problem isn’t dogs. It’s us. Our greed, our overpopulation, our endless sprawl into every patch of land and forest. Leopards enter cities, they’re killed. Stray dogs live among us, they’re caged. Always the animal’s fault, never our own.

We talk about development, but our policies are built on cruelty, corruption, and cowardice. And people who speak for animals are mocked as “jobless” or “sentimental.” As if empathy is a weakness, and apathy is strength.

What This Protest Really Means

This isn’t just about stray dogs. This is about who we are as a people. Whether we choose fear and cruelty, or whether we finally grow the courage to coexist with the beings who share this land with us.

The protests aren’t going away. Neither is the anger. Because we know the truth: India doesn’t have a dog problem. India has a humanity problem.