Ram Gopal Varma Backs Supreme Court's Stray Dog Order, Slams 'Dumb' Dog Lovers For Treating Bites As 'Love Bites'

Hyderabad: Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has strongly come to the defence of the latest Supreme Court order on stray dogs, lashing out at a section of social media users who accused him of being a "dog hater." The director, who is known for his outspoken opinions, made it clear that his argument was not against compassion but regarding ensuring public safety in the wake of what he called an increasing threat.

The controversy began after Varma supported the Supreme Court's decision directing Delhi-NCR authorities to move all stray dogs to dedicated shelters within eight weeks. The order, issued on August 11 by a bench of Justices Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, came after repeated concerns over rising cases of dog bites and rabies across the capital region. Civic bodies have now been instructed to set up proper shelters to house the animals.

Responding to the backlash on the social media platform X, Varma posted a lengthy note, saying critics were ignoring the severity of the situation.

He wrote, "To all those DUMB DOG LOVERS out there, who think I am a DOG HATER, I say this. Are you so blind, deaf and brain-dead that you can't see children being bitten, mauled and killed on CCTV videos all over the place? Can't you f...ing read the official reports on exploding rabies cases? It is common sense that in any emergency - fire, flood, riots, etc, you first deal with the immediate dangers, before holding debates on the root causes and long-term solutions…. The Supreme Court order is not some abstract policy note, but it is a blunt acknowledgement that the stray dog menace has gone too far and human lives have to be saved on a priority level."

Varma further alleged that many self-proclaimed dog lovers maintain double standards by buying foreign breeds while ignoring or refusing to adopt strays. He added, "Coming to adoption, the dog lovers who cry hoarse about compassion are the same people buying foreign breeds to keep them in luxury houses which are well looked after by expensive vets. Just try to tell the dog lovers to take stray dogs in exchange for their pedigree breeds… While feeding, many dog lovers get bitten themselves but don't report it, treating it as a 'love bite.' But rabies spreads silently through these uncontrolled packs, endangering the entire neighbourhood."

The filmmaker stated that India's stray dog issue is a reality that calls for immediate action. The filmmaker argued that solutions must "balance compassion with practicality," depending on a combination of infrastructure and attitudes of the local population.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's order has incited protests in parts of Delhi-NCR, with activists and passionate dog lovers calling for the order to be rescinded.

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