New Delhi, 22 August 2025 — India’s Supreme Court has stepped back from its earlier directive to confine Delhi’s estimated one million stray dogs to shelters, following widespread opposition from animal welfare groups.
In a ruling on Friday, a three-judge bench said that healthy street dogs should not be permanently kept in shelters. Instead, they are to be vaccinated and sterilised before being released back to their original locations. However, the court clarified that dogs infected with rabies or showing aggressive behaviour must be kept in shelters after immunisation.
The court also imposed a ban on feeding stray dogs in public spaces, directing municipal bodies to designate special feeding areas. It further ruled that individuals may adopt strays through local civic authorities but that adopted dogs should not be returned to the streets.
The ruling modifies a controversial 11 August order by a two-judge bench, which had instructed authorities in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram to round up all stray dogs and build shelters for them within eight weeks. That earlier order had drawn sharp criticism from animal rights organisations, who warned that large-scale confinement would lead to overcrowding, disease, and even culling, while also violating existing guidelines that require release of sterilised dogs to their capture sites.
Animal welfare groups welcomed Friday’s revised decision. “The judgment is balanced, structured, and compassionate,” said Alokparna Sengupta, director of Humane World for Animals India. She added, however, that the court should establish a clear scientific framework to identify aggressive dogs, to prevent arbitrary confinement based on personal bias.
India has one of the world’s largest stray dog populations, and according to the World Health Organization, the country accounts for 36% of global rabies deaths. Concerns about rising dog-bite incidents in Delhi and its suburbs had prompted the Supreme Court’s intervention earlier this month.
The bench also said it would work toward a national policy on stray dogs, considering multiple cases pending before the court from across different states.
The decision marks a significant step in balancing public safety concerns with animal welfare, as India continues to grapple with its growing stray dog population.
