India’s top court in August issued an order to remove all stray dogs from the national capital’s streets, sparking outrage among animal rights activists. Later, the court amended the order, allowing municipal authorities to return most strays to their neighborhoods after sterilisation and vaccination. While the revised order calmed some concerns, it also sparked a broader debate in India over street dogs, the problems they pose, and how to address them.
On August 11th, the Supreme Court directed authorities to remove stray dogs and relocate them to designated shelters. The court also ordered that these dogs would not be returned to public spaces. However, this ruling was criticized, and some experts pointed out that it may violate India’s Animal Birth Control Rules, which promote the capture, sterilize, vaccinate, and release policy. In response to protests, the court modified its order on August 22nd, allowing for the capture, sterilization, deworming, vaccination, and release of stray dogs back to their original areas.
The court also ordered the creation of dedicated feeding spaces for stray dogs in each municipal ward and prohibited feeding them on the streets. Moreover, the court requested other states and federal territories to join the case, potentially making the order a nationwide law.
The Supreme Court took up the case due to increasing dog bite cases in the country. According to Ministry of Health data, dog bite cases increased from 2,189,909 in 2022 to 3,052,521 in 2023 and 3,715,713 in 2024. However, the actual number of rabies-induced human deaths may be higher than the reported data, with conservative estimates suggesting up to 10,000 deaths annually.
As for stray dog populations, there is a lack of accurate data in India. The 2019 Livestock Census estimated 15 million stray dogs in India, with Delhi accounting for 55,462. Meanwhile, an unpublished Thinkpaws study assessed the dog density in the national capital region at roughly 550 dogs per square kilometer.
Bhutan has achieved 100 percent sterilization of its stray dog population, vaccinating 90 percent of its 110,000 stray dogs in just two years. The program was successful due to a whole-of-nation approach and the involvement of various parties.
Experts in India believe that the country still has a long way to go in managing stray dogs. They stress the importance of long-term plans, including shelter-based quarantine for dogs, vaccination, adoption, and tough measures to prevent dogs from eating from open rubbish dumps. Without a comprehensive approach, they argue that any attempts to address the issue would be misguided compassion.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/8/30/does-india-have-a-stray-dog-epidemic?traffic_source=rss
