The Madras High Court on Monday ordered Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to file status reports within four weeks detailing the steps they have taken to implement the Supreme Court’s directions on managing stray dogs and protecting public safety.
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Taking the matter suo motu as a public interest litigation (PIL), a bench of chief justice SA Dharmadhikari and justice G Arul Murugan asked both governments to provide details on the “number of animal birth control centres they have established, the veterinarians and trained staff they have appointed, and the frequency of sterilisation and vaccination drives.”
The court also sought information on steps taken to remove stray dogs from educational institutions, hospitals, parks and bus stands, the creation of helpline numbers to report dog bites, and mechanisms for the adoption of stray dogs.
The court stressed that “authorities must give top priority to making school premises free of stray dogs.”
This follows a Supreme Court order expressing concern over the growing stray dog population and its impact on public safety.
On May 19, the apex court said that the unchecked population of stray dogs had become “increasingly feral,” and that the same posed “serious threat to public safety.”
“Compassion for animal life, howsoever important, cannot be interpreted in a manner that compels citizens to endure recurring threats to their own lives, safety and bodily integrity,” the Supreme Court said in its order.
It also noted that according to news reports, Tamil Nadu recorded 263,000 dog-bite cases and 17 deaths in 2025. Referring to similar data from other states, the top court had attributed the growing problem to the failure of state governments and Union territories to effectively implement the Animal Birth Control framework introduced in 2001.
In its order, the Supreme Court had directed all high courts to initiate suo motu proceedings on the issue. It permitted them to “expand or tailor the scope of such directions, as may be necessary to address local conditions and exigencies, without in any manner diluting the tenor and intent of the directions” issued by the apex court.
The Supreme Court had first taken suo motu cognisance of the issue in July 2025 after a newspaper report highlighted alarming statistics on stray dog attacks across the country.
