If you provide food and some amount of care, stray dogs will not get aggressive, the Bombay High Court observed on Wednesday seeking an amicable solution between the warring management of Seawoods Estate Limited and dog lovers from the society.
The court added that it resolved the issue of strays in the Bombay High Court by feeding them. "Nobody can tell a dog or a tiger what its territorial limits are, they don't know your boundaries of Seawoods Estate. We had this problem (strays) in the Bombay Hight Court. We solved it by feeding them. Now they just sleep," Justice Patel added with a laugh.
The court, however, observed that once dedicated spots were identified, the financial and physical obligations to feed, sterilize, vaccinate, neuter would fall on volunteers. It sought a list of such volunteers and adjourned the matter to March 20, 2023.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by six residents of a residential complex at Seawoods in Navi Mumbai, seeking a direction to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) to identify and demarcate feeding stations for stray dogs in public places.
The residents have also challenged fines imposed on them by their housing society for feeding strays. The petitioners and the Seawoods Estates Limited (SEL), which manages the residential complex, have been at loggerheads over the issue.
During the last date of hearing the court had sought the assistance of NGO, 'The Welfare of Stray Dogs which has been working on these issues for the past several decades.
Currently, three feeding sets have been identified by Seawoods Estate Ltd on the periphery of its boundaries on the land of the local authorities. While the court was happy with one plot, which was a two-acre tree belt, the other two were rejected by Justice Patel orally. The reason for the rejection was that one was on the main road and there were chances of accidents, while the other was opposite a school.
Source: LiveLaw
