People staging a protest in Mangaluru on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Dog lovers, caretakers and animal activists gathered near Mangaluru’s Town Hall on January 4 to protest against the Supreme Court’s directive for States to relocate street dogs to shelters.
During the silent protest, participants displayed banners saying, “Every homeless dog was someone’s puppy”, “Mass sterilisation, mass vaccination” and “Namma samudayada pranigalu namma pranigalu” (The animals of our community are our animals).
Speaking to reporters, Suma Nayak of the Animal Care Trust, involved in neutering dogs under the Animal Birth Control Programme in Manglauru and Dakshina Kannada, said the apex court’s order was against dogs. The apex court order directing States to set up shelters and relocate street dogs there to prevent dog bites defies logic, she said.
The apex court has also not been providing an opportunity for the intervention applications filed by animal welfare organisations to be heard, she added.
Activist Harish Rajkumara, animal caretaker Rajani Shetty, and other activists and volunteers involved in a recent street dog census in Mangaluru participated in the protest.
Published – January 04, 2026 08:49 pm IST