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New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Monday (August 11), directed authorities to shift all stray dogs in the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), put them up in shelters and ensure that they never return to neighbourhoods.

Authorities will have to identify vulnerable areas, set an initial target of 5,000 dogs and then start shifting them within six weeks, the Court ordered. Anybody attempting to block this effort will be pulled up for contempt of court, the Bench of Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan warned.

The Delhi NCR is a vast metropolitan area comprising parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Cities like Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad are part of the NCR.

The Court had taken up the matter suo motu after going through a media report on the stray dog menace. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has recorded 35,198 dog bite cases in the first six months of 2025. Available data reveals that 49 people died of rabies during this period.

The Court said it will hear arguments only from the Centre, and no petitions from dog lovers or any other party will be entertained in the matter.

“We are not doing this for us, it is for the public interest. So, no sentiments of any nature should be involved. Action should be taken at the earliest,” Justice Pardiwala said.

“Pick up dogs from all localities and shift them to far-off places. For the time being, forget the rules,” he told amicus curiae Gaurav Agarwala, who suggested the steps that can be taken to address the stray dog menace.

When Justice Pardiwala sought Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s opinion on the matter, he was told that a site in Delhi had been identified for relocating stray dogs, but the plan was stalled after animal rights activists obtained a stay order.

“All these animal activists, will they be able to bring back those who have fallen prey to rabies? We need to make streets absolutely free of stray dogs,” the Bench said, adding that it won’t allow any adoption of stray dogs either.

Among the solutions suggested to the court was the adoption of stray dogs, but Solicitor General Tushar Mehta raised concerns that people may take the dogs in for a few days and then let them out again. The Bench then clarified that no one will be allowed to adopt a stray dog to stop authorities from moving it to the shelter.

Civic authorities in the Delhi NCR have been directed to immediately build dog shelters, move stray dogs and update the court.

These shelters, the court said, must have professionals who can tackle dogs, carry out sterilisation and immunisation and these dogs should not be let out. CCTV cameras must be installed to ensure that dogs cannot escape from these shelters. The civic authorities have also been instructed to start a helpline for reporting dog bite cases.

“Round up all stray dogs from all localities, whether sterilised or unsterilised,” the Court ordered.

After the SG told the Court: “We cannot sacrifice our children just because of a few dog lovers,” it noted that the “situation is grim” and “immediate steps need to be taken”.

“NCT Delhi, MCD, NMDC shall at earlier start picking up stray dogs from all localities, from more particularly vulnerable localities and cities. How to do it is for the authorities to look into and if they have to create a force, do it at the earliest. However, this should be the first and foremost exercise to make all localities free of stray dogs. There should not be any compromise in undertaking any exercise,” the Court said.

“However, what is important, and without which the entire exercise would go futile, not a single stray dog should be released and if we know that this has happened, we will take stern action,” it added.

The court also noted that the availability of rabies vaccine is a major concern. “The authorities concerned, more particularly the government Of NCT Delhi, are directed to put detailed information about the place where such vaccines are available, the stock of vaccines and the number of persons who report for treatment on a monthly basis.”

Rabies, a viral infection primarily transmitted through the bites of warm blooded animals, including dogs, has an extremely high fatality rate and claims nearly 60,000 lives every year. India accounts for 36 per cent of these deaths, according to the World Health Organization.