'It's A Campus, Not Zoo': Madras HC Over PIL On Nurturing Dogs In IIT Madras

The court said, IIT Madras can reduce the number of dogs to 50 due to the presence of deers and black bugs. 

Madras High Court

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Friday told the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that IIT Madras campus does not turn into a dumping ground for abandoned dogs. The Court observed that the campus is not a dog park or a zoo for IIT to devote the resources to maintain the dogs in the campus. Hence, the High Court made the observations and directed Tamil Nadu government and Corporation to take efforts to reduce the number of dogs in the campus. 

According to a report of Times of India, the first bench of Justice Sanjib Baneerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu on Friday were hearing a petition by People for Cattle in India (PFCI) that alleged mistreatment of more than 100 dogs in the IIT Madras campus and "dog park" within the campus. The petitioner said that IIT Madras also failed to take care of the animals since 49 dogs lost their lives in the last six months. 

However, the court did not accept the arguments in the petition and said that a report by Animal Welfare Board mentions that all the dogs are microchipped and they have been allotted three separate parks since some of them are aggressive and affect the movement within the campus.

The court said the large number of dogs can result in aggressive behaviors and the only way to control them is by reducing the number of dogs in the campus. Therefore, the court said, IIT Madras can reduce the number of dogs to 50 due to the presence of deers and black bugs. 

The Court also directed PFCI, officials and Chennai Corporation on the actions to be taken to make IIT Madras get rid of the menace and the way dogs should be treated in the campus.

The High Court has also decided to take up further hearing into the case on November 19.