Delhi Airport's stray dog missing incident: Wagging tails welcome or not? Animal rights activists vs frequent travellers

Social media videos alleging mistreatment and removal of community dogs from the Delhi Airport have left animal lovers and commuters at warring ends. Read on

Those travelling via the Delhi Airport would have often seen cabin crew or frequent fliers petting the stray dogs here. But, of late the situation seems to have turned grey.

Some social media users argue that public spaces such as airports should not have strays roaming around. (Photos: X)

What happened?

A video filmed at the Delhi Airport is being circulating on social media and claims that a stray dog was tied with a rope and relocated by the airport officials. The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has addressed the concern in a series of X posts, but animal lovers continue to allege that the dog is still missing from the airport premises.

DIAL has stated that the brown dog reportedly bit more than one individuals and showed signs of aggression, but was carefully calmed and gently returned to its familiar area. While the airport officials maintain that proper procedures were followed, the animal rights activists refute stating that the dog was handled aggressively.

What @DelhiAirport posted on X:

Across all three terminals of the Delhi Airport, there are around 200 stray dogs, more than 20 feeding spots, designated vets and feeders. We get these dogs sterilised and also feed them... On March 30 and 31, a dog at T1 bit two passengers. So we told a feeder to take the dog away, help it calm down and bring it back... There have been 32 dog bites at the airport in the last three months. It primarily happens when travellers feed dogs at the non designated feeding spots such the food court. The dog then gets used to it and when unable to find food, it starts getting aggressive. We do everything to protect the strays but have to be responsible too. An official at Delhi Airport

Animal right activists speak:

Brownie/Dholu is missing from T1 and Kaddu is missing from T3. The lady official who manages the security at the Delhi Airport seems to be prejudiced against dogs and continuously allows the airport community dogs to be mistreated and relocated. The dog bite complaint is false as Kaddu is a toothless 14-year-old who cannot bite even if she wishes to and there has never been any complaint against this friendly, harmless dog. If there was a complaint, airport should hv referred it to the municipality. Instead they used private contractors to capture friendly easy-to-target dogs. These untrained unauthorised personnel caught these two dogs in the most brutal fashion, tying up their legs, dragging by the neck. After they were  exposed, the airport authorities are claiming that one dog has been returned, but where is the proof? We haven’t been able to locate him yet... Those claiming that airports are restricted public spaces must know that while others are just visitors at the airport, this place is home to the dogs who were born here and have lived here all their lives without creating any problem for anyone. They are all sterilised, vaccinated, healthy and harmless. As per the law, they cannot be removed. Ambika Shukla, animal rights activist and a trustee of People for Animals (PFA)

The stray dogs at the Delhi Airport are majorly senior, around 10 to 14 years, and are all sterilised. The premises also has dog feeders. Several pilots and cabin crew staff are also actively involved in taking care of these dogs, and get regular updates. That’s why when Kaddu, a 14-year-old female indie, went missing it caught everyone’s attention. Around the same time, a video of another dog, Dholu went viral... We, animal rights activists, have inside information about the airport authorities hiring a private contractor to pick up stray dogs. The video shows untrained individuals tying the dog’s feet with a wire catcher, which usually means a dog will choke! There is no resistance or showing of teeth from the dog, which means it had no signs of aggression. Why was it treated so badly then? Purnima Khera, animal welfare activist

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