India’s Supreme Court has ordered the Delhi government and municipal authorities to immediately begin removing stray dogs from streets and housing them in shelters, citing public safety concerns after a surge in dog bites.

India is home to millions of stray dogs, and deadly attacks, particularly on children and the elderly, are regularly reported by the city’s media.

The country accounts for more than a third of global rabies deaths, according to the World Health Organization, a crisis exacerbated by a lack of sterilisation programmes and legal restrictions on canine culling.

The court directed authorities to create shelters capable of accommodating approximately 5,000 stray dogs, ensuring adequate staff for sterilization and immunization. Crucially, the order mandates that these dogs not be released back onto streets, colonies, or public places, a departure from previous Animal Birth Control (ABC) rules which required their return after sterilization.

“What is important, and without which the entire exercise would go futile, not a single stray dog should be released,” it said, which applies to Delhi and its satellite suburbs, a megacity home to some 30 million people.

The court warned of action against animal activists who obstruct the removal of dogs.

It also ordered a 24-hour helpline to be set up to report dog bites, and officials must publicise locations where anti-rabies vaccines are available.

Data tabled in the Indian parliament showed more than 3.7 million cases of dog bites and 54 suspected human deaths from rabies in 2024.

Other estimates peg the number to be nearly twice as high, with Delhi alone accounting for roughly 2,000 cases of dog bites every day.