Stray Dogs To Be Released After Sterilisation And Immunisation, Except Rabid Or Aggressive Ones: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (22 August) stayed the 11 August directive of a two-judge bench that prohibited the release of stray dogs picked up from Delhi-NCR, Livelaw reported.

The bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria clarified that stray dogs should be released following sterilisation and immunisation, except in cases where the animals are rabid or display aggressive behaviour.

The Court further restricted public feeding of stray dogs, directing authorities to set up designated feeding zones.

The Court reiterated the direction in the 11 August order that no person or organisation can interfere with municipal authorities while they capture stray dogs under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules.

Extending the issue beyond Delhi-NCR, the Court impleaded all States and Union Territories and said that similar cases pending in High Courts will be transferred to the Supreme Court.

This move aims to establish a uniform, nationwide policy on stray dog management.

Earlier, on 11 August, Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan directed that all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR be relocated to shelters within eight weeks.

The decision was prompted by increasing cases of dog bites and rabies-related deaths, with government data showing 37 lakh dog bites and 54 suspected rabies deaths in 2024.

The court had directed authorities to capture stray dogs from the streets and warned against any interference in the rounding-up exercise. The authorities were also asked to make shelters for at least 5,000 dogs.

The directive sparked sharp public debate, with widespread support as well as criticism from various quarters. Animal welfare groups and celebrities opposed the move, arguing it would be costly and ineffective in addressing the stray dog population crisis, while many others supported the decision.

The matter was later shifted to this three-judge bench, after some lawyers mentioned before the Chief Justice of India that those directions were in conflict with the previous orders passed by other benches.

On 14 August, the three-judge bench heard the matter and reserved order on whether to stay the 11 August directions.

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Also Read: SC Reserves Order On Pleas Against Delhi-NCR Stray Dog Relocation Directive