Amid stray dogs case, Ram Gopal Varma makes an EXPLOSIVE statement on animal lovers: ‘They treat dog bites as love bites…’

Director Ram Gopal Varma has again created controversy after expressing his unflinching support for the Supreme Court's order to relocate stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to shelters within a period of eight weeks. A section of social media quickly tagged him as a dog hater, but RGV chose to put the record straight. Taking to X, he posted a detailed note in which he made it clear that his position was not against empathy for animals but concerned with safeguarding human lives from an increasing threat. He emphasized that the stray dog threat in India has assumed such proportions that urgent steps are needed, and the answer has to come from both practical solutions as well as humane concerns.

What did Ram Gopal Varma say about animal lovers?

Varma spoke his mind to his critics in his post. "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?" he said. Emphasizing the speed with which the issue must be addressed, he stated that just as in disasters like floods or riots, immediate problems need to be addressed first before bringing up long-term strategies.

Bold statement by Ram Gopal Varma

He said, "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."

What is the Supreme Court's order on stray dogs?

On August 11, a bench of Justices Pardiwala and R Mahadevan instructed Delhi-NCR officials to clear stray dogs from neighborhoods and relocate them to specialized shelters run by civic bodies. The directive, however, has prompted mass protests, with activists and animal lovers urging the Supreme Court to revisit its decision.