Animal and disease control is the fundamental responsibility of every modern state. Across the world, constitutions and public health laws empower governments to quarantine, remove and wherever necessary, cull animals to protect people, livestock, pets, wildlife, as well as the environment from attacks and diseases. India is no exception via its state municipal and panchayat acts, central statutes and BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) provisions. Significantly, two recent landmark Supreme Court judgments regarding the fundamental Right to Life of citizens under Article 21 also underscore the above laws.
Yet over the past two decades, a growing narrative has sought to romanticize stray animals, while portraying lawful animal control as violent and irreligious. Domestic and even international animal rights organizations have increasingly portrayed measures for removal of stray animals as immoral and violent, despite foreign NGOs accepting similar policies in their home countries. PETA, for instance, supports euthanasia for stray dogs in the US, yet champions homelessness for the same animals in India. Government agencies and courts attempting to enforce existing laws are often demonized using selective and misleading references to religion and mythology.