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NEW DELHI, India: On August 11, India’s Supreme Court ordered New Delhi’s civic authorities to immediately begin capturing 5,000 stray dogs from designated “high-risk areas” and placing them in shelters equipped with adequate staff and CCTV surveillance within six to eight weeks.

The court did not explain how it arrived at the 5,000 figure. Estimates of the city’s stray dog population vary widely, ranging from 500,000 to one million.

While most dogs roaming the streets are harmless, the directive comes amid growing concern over dog bite incidents, including attacks on children. Hospital data suggests the nation’s capital records nearly 2,000 such cases every day.

Calling the situation “extremely grim,” the bench said the order was made “in the larger public interest” and stressed that “infants and young children should not at any cost fall prey to stray dogs.”

The court also directed authorities to set up an animal helpline within a week to ensure all bite incidents are reported. It warned that any individual or organization obstructing the removal of strays would face “strict” legal consequences. Once captured, the dogs must not be released back into the streets, residential areas, or public spaces.

Animal rights groups and activists had earlier opposed the proceedings. This week, the court rebuked them, asking, “All these animal activists … will they be able to bring back those who have fallen prey to rabies?”

Rabies is a viral disease transmitted through bites from infected animals. It attacks the central nervous system and is almost always fatal if untreated.

Shortly after the ruling, Delhi Cabinet Minister Kapil Mishra announced that the city government would begin implementing the order, calling it a step toward freeing the capital “from the fear of rabies and stray animals.”

“Special attention will also be given to the comprehensive welfare of stray animals,” Mishra said in a post on X.