Over 50,000 citizens write to SC against stray dogs order

New Delhi: More than 50,000 citizens across India, including nearly 10,000 from Delhi, posted handwritten letters to the Supreme Court on Saturday, urging it to reconsider its November 7 order directing authorities to remove community dogs from institutional areas, the organisers said in a release.

This was part of a nationwide letter petition campaign urging citizens to write to the apex court in support of animal rights and human experience, it said.

The organisers said that they had asked people across the country to visit their nearest post office on November 29 and mail a letter to the Chief Justice of India seeking a stay, recall and reconsideration of the order.

The citizen-driven initiative was led by animal welfare activist Ambika Shukla, the release said.

At Lucknow’s GPO, people from different walks of life, including students and professionals, lined up to speed-post their petitions, the release claimed.

It further said that people from places ranging from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, including cities such as Imphal, Vadodara, and Chennai, also wrote to the top court in support of the campaign.

Kunal, an animal activist, said that they circulated English and Hindi templates for the letters, and stressed that public participation had been stronger than expected.

“This movement shows how deeply people care about animal welfare. A handwritten letter carries sincerity and by now more than 10,000 letters have already been submitted,” he said.

According to the organisers, more than 50,000 postal receipts had been uploaded on their website by Saturday evening.