High leaders of India order managers to move stray dogs to shelters in Delhi

The Head Court of India ordered the authorities of Delhi and its suburbs to move all the stray dogs from the streets to animal shelters.

The court expressed concerns about the increase in the “threat of dog bites leading to rage” and gave officials a deadline for eight weeks to complete the task.

Delhi’s stray dogs are estimated at a million, the suburbs of Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram also seeing an increase, according to municipal sources.

India has millions of stray dogs and the country represents 36% of deaths related to rabies worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

“Infants and young children, not in any case, should be prey to rage. The action should inspire the confidence that they can move freely without fear of being bitten by stray dogs,” said News Ledis website on Monday.

The court approached the question following reports on growing dog bites in Delhi and other major cities.

The court has ordered that several shelters be established through Delhi and its suburbs, each capable of accommodating at least 5,000 dogs. These shelters should be equipped with sterilizations and vaccination facilities, as well as video surveillance cameras.

The court ruled that sterilized dogs should not be released in the public fields, despite the current rules requiring their return to the capture site.

He also ordered that a line of assistance was created in a week to report dog bites and rabies.

However, animal protection groups have expressed good concerns about the court directive. They said that the calendar set up by the court was not realistic.

“Most Indian cities do not even have 1% of the capacity (necessary) to rehabilitate stray dogs in shelters,” said Nilesh Bhanage, founder of Paws, an eminent animal rights group.

“If the court and the authorities really want to end the threat, they should focus on strengthening the implementation of existing regulations to control the dog population and rabies – they include vaccination, sterilization and effective garbage management.”

Government data show that there were 3.7 million cases of dog bites reported across the country in 2024.

Activists say that the real extent of the deaths linked to rabies is not fully known.

The World Health Organization claims that “the real burden of rage in India is not fully known; although in accordance with the information available, it causes 18,000 to 20,000 deaths each year”.

On the other hand, according to data subject to parliament by the Indian government, 54 deaths of the rage were recorded in 2024, against 50 in 2023.

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