Ram Gopal Varma slams Bollywood celebs, says stray dog rights cannot come before human lives

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma criticised Bollywood celebrities supporting stray dog rights after the Supreme Court ordered Delhi-NCR strays to be moved into shelters. He accused animal lovers of “selective sympathy” and said human lives must not be endangered for animal compassion.

Mumbai: Ever since the Supreme Court’s verdict to put all the stray dogs in the Delhi-NCR region into shelters, many Bollywood celebs have condemned the decision, saying that this is not the correct way to tackle the situation.

Now, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has something to say to all those animal lovers.

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The ‘Sarkar’ maker said that while people are being bitten and killed by stray dogs, the dog lovers are busy tweeting about dog rights.

He added that while there is no harm in loving your pets within the house, it is insensitive to preach compassion to the victims of stray dogs and their loved ones.

The director also pointed out: “Rich people pet Hi breeds. Poor people get mauled and killed by strays. That’s the class divide dog lovers don’t talk about.”

The ‘Rangeela’ maker asked a pertinent question to all the animal lovers out there, saying, “If a man kills, he’s a murderer. If a dog kills, you call it an “accident.” So does that mean people killing like animals can also be called an accident?”

Varma said that people nowadays are practicing selective sympathy as they weep for dogs, but not for people who lose their loved ones because of these dogs.

The ‘Shool’ director stated that instead of saying “don’t kill strays,” the dog lovers should adopt all the street dogs. Varma further asked the reason for not doing so – “They are low-bred, dirty, disease-oriented, or you don’t want to endanger your loved ones?”

He shared that compassion without justice is not compassion but cruelty wrapped in self-righteousness.

The filmmaker added that stray dogs do not attack inside gated communities; they attack in places without gates.

Bashing the pet parents some more, he even advised them to create hashtags for mothers who watch their child being bitten to death by the stray dogs.

Varma concluded by saying that while all animals have a right to live, it should not be at the expense of other human lives.