Will the latest ruling by the Delhi High Court put matters to rest between feeders of stray animals and other residents?

In many places, feeders and volunteers not just feed the animals but also sterilise and vaccinate them

Twenty-five-year-old Shyamal Thakker says he has been harassed for years by his housing society in Lokhandwala. It is because he regularly feeds strays and fosters animals in need of care and attention. “This is not just my story but that of a number of feeders or rescuers,” says Shyamal, over a call from Mumbai. “Every dog deserves a loving home,” says S Chinny Krishna, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Blue Cross of India that started in 1959 in Chennai. He says the only humane method to control rapid breeding is via sterilisation and vaccination. In 1964, the Blue Cross of India started the Animal Birth Control programme. The number of animals sterilised by them varies between14,000 a year to 5,000 last year because of the pandemic.