One SC order, million problems: How removing over 10 lakh+ dogs could lead to zoonotic diseases & more aggressive strays

Time of India

2 days ago

The Supreme Court's directive to move all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR into shelters has set off a scramble among civic authorities -- and an outcry from
animal welfare advocates
-- over what many are calling an 'unworkable' order.
On Monday, the apex court described the stray dog menace as 'extremely grim' and ordered the Delhi government and municipal bodies to pick up strays from all localities and keep them in shelters. It warned of strict action against anyone obstructing the drive. According to the data of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and various surveys, Delhi alone has an estimated stray dog population of around 10 lakh.
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The ruling comes amid growing public anger over dog bite incidents in the region. However, as both officials and activists point out, the immediate challenge is the lack of infrastructure and funds to house the vast number of stray animals -- which also pose the risk of becoming breeding grounds for zoonotic diseases.
Activists warn of 'vacuum effect' and health risks
Animal welfare advocates argue that the order not only ignores ground realities but could worsen the problem.
Ambika Shukla, trustee at People For Animals, wrote in The Times of India that 'without any meaningful discussion or ground-level consultation,' the Supreme Court had given an unprecedented order that fails to account for the lack of census data, infrastructure, budget, and trained manpower.
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Shelters, she warned, could become breeding grounds for zoonotic diseases like leptospirosis, mange, and parvovirus-- citing past outbreaks in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Mumbai. Removing territorial, sterilised dogs could also trigger the 'vacuum effect', allowing unvaccinated, more aggressive dogs to move in.
Instead, Shukla and others advocate strengthening ABC programmes, which they say have reduced rabies cases nationwide from 20,000 annually to just 54.
A Rs 15,000 crore challenge
Former Union minister and animal rights advocate Maneka Gandhi called the plan impractical.
'You have three lakh dogs in Delhi. To get them all off the roads, you'll have to make 3,000 pounds (enclosures), each with drainage, water, a shed, a kitchen, and a watchman. That will cost about Rs 15,000 crore. Does Delhi have Rs 15,000 crore for this?' she told PTI.
Feeding the impounded dogs, she added, would require another Rs 5 crore every week.
Gandhi also warned of unintended ecological consequences. 'Within 48 hours, three lakh dogs will come from Ghaziabad, Faridabad because there's food in Delhi. And once you remove the dogs, monkeys will come on the ground… In Paris in the 1880s, when they removed dogs and cats, the city was overrun with rats,' she said, calling dogs 'rodent control animals'.
Instead of relocation, Gandhi argued for strict enforcement of existing measures: sterilisation, anti-rabies and distemper vaccinations, a ban on relocation, and close monitoring of Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres.
Municipal bodies caught off guard
Hours after the ruling, Gurgaon Municipal Commissioner Pradeep Dahiya instructed officers to start planning for implementation. But as Dahiya told The Times of India, 'We will first study the Supreme Court order and then decide on the further course of action. Yes, we must allocate space to set up dog shelters in the city. But we will have to determine whether these shelters will be set up zone-wise or ward-wise.'
In Gurgaon, the task is daunting: 50,000 stray dogs, but only two operational shelters -- each with a capacity of 50 animals -- and two more under construction. The Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, which require sterilised dogs to be returned to their original locations, meant large-scale shelter infrastructure was never developed.
In Ghaziabad, the last census recorded 48,000 stray dogs. According to Dr Anuj Singh, chief veterinary officer at the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation, 'We have been sterilising 25 dogs a day at the Animal Birth Control Centre here. But without a shelter, housing these animals is a significant challenge.'
Noida's situation is worse. With no official census, estimates run as high as 1.5 lakh strays -- and only four private shelters to house them. The city also reported 73,754 street dog bite cases in the past seven months.
The road ahead: Eight weeks, no clear plan
The Supreme Court has given civic bodies just eight weeks to comply. That means building or expanding shelters, arranging food and veterinary care, hiring trained staff, and securing budgets running into hundreds of crores -- all in under two months.
Meanwhile, sterilisation contracts in several NCR cities are expiring this year, leaving even population control efforts in limbo.
For now, municipal commissioners across NCR are convening emergency meetings. But the gap between judicial mandate and administrative capacity remains vast. As one Gurgaon official told ToI: 'On paper, the order is clear. On the ground, it's almost impossible.'
With inputs from ToI