Ram Gopal Varma, on Saturday, posted a strongly worded response to animal welfare protests against a recent Supreme Court decision directing the removal of stray dogs from Delhi-NCR streets. Posting a series of pointed remarks on social media, he confronted those advocating for the dogs, asking, “You can love your pets in your luxury homes. But it’s insensitive to preach compassion to the stray dog’s victims and their loved ones.”

Varma challenged the differential empathy often extended to animals over humans, “You weep for dogs, but not for dead humans... Sympathy can be so selective.” He also drew attention to socio-economic disparities, noting that “rich people pet high breeds, poor people get mauled and killed by strays. That’s the class divide dog lovers don’t talk about.”

He further questioned passive sympathy without action, urging animal-lovers to adopt stray dogs rather than oppose removal: “Instead of dog lovers saying ‘don’t kill strays,’ why don’t you take them off the streets and adopt them all... Compassion without justice is not compassion. It’s cruelty wrapped in self-righteousness.”

Ram Gopal Varma's remarks are set against the backdrop of the recent Supreme Court directive that ordered agencies in Delhi and surrounding regions to capture, sterilise, vaccinate and permanently house stray dogs in shelters without returning them to the streets. Critics argue the ruling overlooks humane protocols and lacks the infrastructure to be practical. Many celebrities like Adivi Sesh and Sadha came forward to protest the directive on social media.