Delhi Court Mandates Removal of Stray Dogs Amid Rabies Concerns

Fri Oct 17 2025 16:50:18 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Indian authorities must relocate stray dogs to shelters within eight weeks as rabies fears rise

Delhi's top court has ordered city officials to round up stray dogs and transport them to shelters, responding to growing concerns about dog bites and rabies. The decision comes as the city's population of stray dogs is estimated to be one million.

The Supreme Court of India has given a strict eight-week deadline to Delhi authorities to round up all stray dogs from streets and relocate them to animal shelters, amid rising fears linked to dog bites and rabies. The ruling comes in response to a surge in reported dog attacks, prompting health and safety concerns for residents, particularly vulnerable groups like infants and young children.

Currently, Delhi has an estimated stray dog population of around one million, with nearby areas such as Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram also experiencing increases in stray dogs. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India is home to millions of stray dogs and accounts for 36% of global rabies-related fatalities.

The court emphasized the need for children to feel safe and secure from potential rabies infection, as noted by the legal news site Live Law. It directed the establishment of several shelters throughout the region, each with a capacity to house up to 5,000 dogs, equipped with sterilization and vaccination facilities as well as CCTV surveillance.

In a significant shift, the ruling specifies that sterilized dogs must not be returned to public spaces, contrary to existing guidelines. Additionally, the court has mandated the implementation of a helpline to report dog bites and rabies incidents within one week.

However, animal rights groups have raised serious concerns over the feasibility of the court's order, stating the timeline is overly ambitious. Nilesh Bhanage, founder of PAWS, a prominent animal welfare organization, criticized the lack of shelter capacity in Indian cities, arguing that instead of an aggressive removal policy, authorities should focus on enhancing existing measures like vaccination and sterilization to manage the stray dog population effectively.

Reports indicate there were 3.7 million cases of dog bites documented across India in 2024. While the Ministry of Health reported 54 confirmed rabies fatalities the same year, the WHO estimates annual rabies deaths in the country could range from 18,000 to 20,000, highlighting the gap in understanding the disease's full impact.