Why Mass Stray Dog Removal Could Be a Public Health Time Bomb :

At first glance, addressing India’s stray dog problem may appear straightforward and almost obvious: eliminate the dogs and eliminate the threat. As the Supreme Court nears a significant ruling this year, the urgency to clear the streets has intensified dramatically. However, a coalition of international specialists, including evolutionary biologists from the University of Louisville and public health experts from AIIMS, has raised a dire caution: large-scale removal isn't merely a logistical challenge; it also presents a biological hazard.

Here’s why the quick solution of mass sheltering might have unintended consequences, leading to a transformed urban environment that could be even more hazardous than our current situation.

1. The Vacuum Effect:

The most pressing risk of large-scale removal is a biological concept referred to as the Vacuum Effect.

Experts contend that stray dogs establish stable social structures linked to particular territories and food sources (like garbage locations). When you eliminate a grounded, sterilized, and vaccinated dog population, you generate a territorial vacuum.

The Outcome: In just 48 to 72 hours, new, unvaccinated, and unsterilized dogs from surrounding areas will arrive to take over the available food and territory.

The Risk: These newcomers tend to exhibit greater aggression as they vie for dominance, and they pose a significantly increased threat of spreading rabies throughout the central city.

2. Streets and Health Hazards:

The Court has proposed relocating dogs to institutional shelters. However, veterinary professionals caution that housing many animals together is globally recognized as a biohazard activity.

Disease Incubators: In overcrowded shelters, the presence of even a single case of canine distemper or parvovirus can potentially decimate hundreds of animals within days.

The Human Risk: Shelters can turn into hotspots for zoonotic diseases (illnesses that can transfer from animals to humans) such as Leptospirosis and Mange. In the absence of rigorous quarantine and worker safety measures typically seen in high-end laboratories—most municipal shelters do not have these protocols—these environments can pose significant health risks to staff and local residents.

3. Losing our Natural Scavengers

We often overlook the ecological function that stray dogs perform. They act as urban scavengers, helping to regulate rodent populations.

The Ripple Effect: Experts caution that if dogs were to suddenly vanish, it would likely trigger a surge in rodent numbers.

The Result: Monitoring, vaccinating, or controlling rats is significantly more challenging than it is for dogs. An uncontrolled increase in the rat population could reintroduce historic threats such as the Plague or modern disease outbreaks like Leptospirosis, further complicating an already overburdened public health system.

The existing CNVR (Catch-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release) approach in India is founded on a scientific principle: vaccinating 70% of the dogs in a region is sufficient to prevent the persistence of rabies. By removing these vaccinated dogs and allowing a continuous influx of new, unfamiliar animals, we effectively undermine the herd immunity that has been established over the past twenty years. As one expert noted, substituting an effective, low-cost public health strategy with a mass-detention approach is not only unscientific—it actively invites further risk.

The discussion has evolved into a conflict between Human and Animal Rights, yet the evidence indicates that these are interconnected issues. Genuine public safety is not achieved through deserted streets; rather, it is attained through properly managed streets.

While we await the Supreme Court's ultimate decision, the question isn't merely 'Where will the dogs be relocated?' but rather 'What will fill the void they leave behind?'