Srinagar, June 19 -- Supreme Court's latest observations on euthanizing rabid, incurably ill, or demonstrably dangerous stray dogs have reopened a debate that Kashmir has lived with for years. The Valley's streets tell a story of fear and neglect: packs of dogs chasing pedestrians, children escorted to school through lanes where garbage attracts strays, and elderly residents timing their movements to daylight. Dog-bite cases have become routine, a grim reminder of how civic systems have failed to keep pace with a crisis that grows unchecked.

The court's directive is legally narrow, tied to veterinary assessment and compliance with existing laws. Yet in Kashmir, where animal birth control programmes are stalled and infrastructure for welf...