Supreme Court Order on Stray Dog Crisis

Recently , the Supreme Court directed Delhi-NCR authorities to remove all free-ranging dogs from public spaces and relocate them permanently to shelters.

Stray Dog Crisis in India

• Huge National Stray Population: India has an estimated 52.5 million stray dogs, according to the State of Pet Homelessness survey.
• Delhi’s Share of the Problem: The national capital alone is reported to have around 1 million stray dogs, contributing significantly to urban human–animal conflict.
• Dog Bite Incidence: In 2024, India recorded 37,17,336 dog bite cases, reflecting the scale of public health and safety concerns linked to the stray population.
• Rabies Impact: According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, India accounts for 36% of global rabies deaths, with 18,000 to 20,000 human rabies cases reported annually.
  • The country also reported 54 suspected human rabies deaths in 2024, with the vast majority of rabies cases traced to dog bites.
• Shelter Capacity Gap: Only about 8 million homeless dogs are housed in shelters, leaving the vast majority on the streets without systematic control measures.

Key Highlight of the SC Order

• Immediate Removal: Authorities in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, and Ghaziabad must immediately begin removing stray dogs from localities, prioritising vulnerable areas and city outskirts.
• Permanent Relocation: Captured dogs will be housed in dedicated shelters, sterilised, vaccinated, and monitored by CCTV, with a strict ban on returning them to public spaces.
• Enforcement and Penalties: Individuals or organisations obstructing removal operations will face legal consequences. Authorities may use force if required to capture the animals.
• Infrastructure Creation Timeline: Shelters with capacity for 5,000–6,000 dogs must be built within 6–8 weeks, with adequate staff for sterilisation, vaccination, and care.
• Rabies Prevention Measures: A public helpline for dog bites and rabies cases must be operational within a week, ensuring action within four hours
  • Authorities must publish vaccine availability and stock data.

Criticism of the SC Order

• Blanket Order: Animal welfare groups argue the directive applies indiscriminately to all dogs, including vaccinated and sterilised ones, disregarding individual community contexts.
• Violation of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Animal Birth Control (ABC) rules: The order contradicts the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, which mandate that sterilised and vaccinated dogs be returned to their original territories.
• No Scientific Backing: Experts point out that large-scale relocation has no proven record of reducing rabies or controlling dog populations, and may even disrupt ecological balance.
• Ethical Concern: Activists describe the ruling as “inhumane” and “unscientific,” causing unnecessary suffering to healthy animals without addressing root causes.
• Violation of Animal Rights: Removing community dogs from familiar territories deprives them of their basic rights under animal protection frameworks and undermines coexistence principles.
• Impact on Community Rights : Residents who feed and care for community dogs view the removal as a breach of their rights and a disruption of established human-animal relationships.

Challenges in Implementation of the Order

• Structural Limitations: Delhi lacks government-run dog shelters; creating facilities for lakhs of dogs will require vast land, sanitation, and food infrastructure, taking years to complete.
• Financial Burden: Establishing adequate shelter infrastructure could cost upwards of ₹15,000 crore, a figure deemed unrealistic within the 2-month timeline set by the court.
• Public Outrage: Communities and animal welfare organisations are strongly opposing mass dog removal leading to legal challenges and  nationwide protests.
• Logistical Constraints: Capturing and housing over 3 lakh stray dogs in Delhi alone would require massive manpower, transport, veterinary support, and operational coordination.
• Legal Constrain: ABC guidelines make a distinction between community dogs (living on the street or within a gated campus) and pet dogs, making it harder for authorities to assign responsibility.

Earlier Attempts to Control Stray Dogs

• Culling and removal: India’s past attempts to tackle stray dogs through culling by electrocution, poisoning, shooting, or clubbing proved ineffective.
  • Partial elimination reduced competition and spurred breeding.
• Animal Birth Control (ABC) Initiative : Since 1992, NGOs like Blue Cross of India and various governments have implemented Animal Birth Control (ABC) programmes in cities.
• Legal Backing: In 2001, ABC (Dogs) Rules were notified under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
  • The Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023 replaced the 2001 rules, mandating that sterilised and vaccinated stray dogs be released back to their original locations after the procedure.
• Operational Limitation: ABC drives require sterilising at least two-thirds of the stray population within 6–12 months to stabilise numbers.
  • Most Indian cities fail to meet this target, as the responsibility rests largely with a few NGOs.
• Outcome Challenge: Even if the sterilisation target is met, stray populations may still grow, indicating limited long-term impact of current ABC efforts.

Alternatives to Address the Stray Dog Crisis

• Large-Scale Sterilisation and Vaccination Drives: Replicate Bhutan’s Nationwide Accelerated Dog Population Management and Rabies Control Programme (2021–2023), which achieved 100% sterilisation and vaccination of strays over time.
• Adoption Incentives: Netherlands’ model by imposing high taxes on store-bought dogs and promoting adoption from shelters, reducing street populations sustainably.
• Community-Based Management: Encourage local communities to participate in feeding, vaccinating, and monitoring dogs in their areas, combined with the Collect-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (CNVR) approach.
• Pet Police : Establish dedicated animal welfare enforcement unit to penalise neglect and abandonment, ensuring pet responsibility and reducing stray numbers.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court’s order to remove stray dogs from Delhi-NCR aims to address public health and safety concerns, but faces legal, ethical, and logistical hurdles. Sustainable solutions require large-scale sterilisation, community participation, strict pet ownership laws, and humane management.

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