Doctors across India have written to CJI Gavai, urging him to stay the Supreme Court’s order that overcrowded stray dog shelters pose a serious zoonotic disease risk.
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NEW DELHI: Doctors and veterinarians across India have appealed to the Chief Justice of India, cautioning that the 11 August Supreme Court directive to capture and confine stray dogs in Delhi-NCR shelters could trigger outbreaks of zoonotic diseases.
One of the most vocal critics has been Dr. Arti Maria, Dean of RML Hospital in Delhi. Taking to Instagram on 18 August, she warned that overcrowded shelters can become “hotspots of zoonosis”, diseases that jump from animals to humans.
“Confining a large number of dogs in closed spaces weakens their immunity,”
Dr. Maria said.
She added,
“The diseases from these dogs could affect humans, families, and especially the workers in these shelters.”
Her concerns are echoed in over 10 letters and testimonials submitted to the Chief Justice of India, highlighting threats not only to the animals but also to shelter staff and nearby communities.
The Zoonotic Disease Threat
In a detailed letter dated 18 August, Dr. Rajeena Shahin, a physician, flagged two particularly dangerous bacterial infections, leptospirosis and brucellosis, which are known to spread in overcrowded, unhygienic animal shelters. Both diseases have previously caused outbreaks in India and abroad, with a significant brucellosis outbreak reported in South Carolina, USA, as recently as 2023.
Her letter also highlighted an increased rabies risk, cautioning that removing dogs from their territories undermines decades of scientific best practices in rabies control.
The “Vacuum Effect” Explained
Veterinarians like Dr. Shivendra Pratap Singh, along with doctors such as Dr. Neelima Seth and Ashima Nath, have pointed to the well-documented “vacuum effect”,
- When street dogs are removed from their territories, the empty space is quickly recolonized by other unvaccinated and unsterilised dogs.
- This leads to constant population turnover, undoing progress made by sterilisation and vaccination drives.
- The result is a higher, not lower, rabies risk.
Global Research Backs Indian Doctors
Adding weight to these concerns, the ROH-Indies Research Project at the University of Edinburgh stated on 14 August, calling the SC order “counterproductive from a public health perspective.”
The research points out:
- Street dog elimination is a quick-fix illusion. Instead of reducing rabies, it may worsen the risk.
- India’s rabies success story: Human rabies deaths dropped from 247 in 2005 to just 24 in 2022, largely due to vaccination campaigns and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), not mass elimination.
- 82% of human-street dog interactions are uneventful, showing that dogs have adapted to coexist peacefully with humans.
- In ecosystems where dogs are removed, other species like foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and bats take their place as disease carriers—posing an equal or greater threat.
Humane Alternatives Proposed
Doctors, NGOs, and researchers are unanimous in calling for science-backed, humane strategies instead of large-scale confinement. Their recommendations include:
- Strict implementation of Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023
- Mass vaccination campaigns for dogs
- Proper urban waste management to reduce stray populations naturally
- Awareness drives for rabies prevention and post-bite treatment access
What are Zoonotic Diseases?
Zoonotic diseases (zoonoses) are infections that spread between animals and humans. Since animals like dogs, cats, bats, birds, and livestock share biological similarities with humans, certain germs adapt to infect both. Some zoonoses spread only from animals to humans (like rabies), while others, such as Ebola, can spread among humans too. In rare cases, like HIV and COVID-19, animal diseases mutate to become human-only infections.
Symptoms:
Symptoms depend on the disease, but often include:
- Fever, fatigue, headache
- Body aches, rashes
- Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting
Causes:
Zoonoses are caused by:
- Bacteria (e.g., anthrax, brucellosis, tuberculosis)
- Viruses (e.g., rabies, bird flu, Ebola, Nipah)
- Parasites (e.g., giardiasis, malaria, toxoplasmosis)
- Fungi (e.g., ringworm)
- Prions (e.g., mad cow disease)
Transmission:
They spread through:
- Animal bites or scratches
- Contact with body fluids (blood, saliva, feces)
- Insect bites (mosquitoes, ticks, fleas)
- Eating undercooked meat or drinking contaminated water
Animals That Carry Zoonoses:
Bats, birds, cats, dogs, rodents, livestock, and primates are common carriers.
Who is at Risk?:
Higher-risk groups include farmers, veterinarians, pet handlers, hunters, and people with weak immune systems.
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