Stray Dogs in India: Supreme Court’s Ruling, Rising Bite Cases, and the Road Ahead

India is home to millions of stray dogs, but the question of how to manage them has divided policymakers, courts, activists, and citizens. In August 2025, the Supreme Court of India issued a landmark ruling on the sterilisation and vaccination of strays in the National Capital Region, sparking nationwide debate. While the court’s decision aimed to address rising dog bite cases and rabies concerns, it also highlighted a deeper issue: India doesn’t truly know how many stray dogs roam its streets.

This article explores the Supreme Court’s rulings, the scale of the stray dog population, health risks, international models like Bhutan’s, and what the future might look like for India’s human-dog relationship.

What Did the Supreme Court Decide?

On August 11, 2025, a Supreme Court bench directed authorities in Delhi and its suburban cities to immediately remove stray dogs from localities and place them in shelters. The order explicitly barred their return to public spaces.

Animal rights groups pushed back, warning that the directive could trigger cruelty and violate the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, which mandate humane control through capture, sterilisation, vaccination, and release.

Amid public protests, the order was revised on August 22, 2025. The new ruling allowed sterilised, vaccinated, and dewormed dogs to be released back into the same areas — except for aggressive or rabid dogs.

The court also introduced new measures:

• Dedicated feeding zones in each municipal ward.

• Ban on public street feeding of stray dogs.

• Scope for nationwide extension of the ruling to other states and union territories

The Dog Bite Crisis in India

The Supreme Court’s intervention was triggered by a troubling rise in dog bite cases:

• 2022: 2.18 million cases

• 2023: 3.05 million cases

• 2024: 3.71 million cases

Dog bites are more than a nuisance — they are the primary source of rabies transmission, a disease almost always fatal once symptoms appear.

While official Health Ministry data reported only 21 to 54 rabies-related deaths annually over the last three years, experts believe this is a severe undercount. A Lancet study estimated 5,726 deaths annually, while epidemiologists suggest the real number may be closer to 10,000.

India contributes 36% of global rabies deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)

Does India Know How Many Strays It Has?

Counting stray dogs in India has always been a challenge.

• The 2019 Livestock Census estimated 15 million stray dogs nationwide and 55,462 in Delhi.

• Bite cases in Delhi that year, however, were 45,052, casting doubt on census accuracy.

• A study by Thinkpaws suggested Delhi might actually house 825,000+ strays — nearly 15 times higher than government figures.

The 2024 census, expected to update these numbers, has been delayed, leaving policymakers without reliable data

Lessons from Bhutan: Can 100% Sterilisation Work?

While India struggles, its Himalayan neighbour Bhutan offers a success story.

• By 2023, Bhutan became the first country to achieve 100% sterilisation of its 110,000 stray dogs.

• Over 90% were vaccinated, surpassing the threshold needed for herd immunity against rabies.

• The programme succeeded because of a nationwide, time-bound approach backed by the King and supported by the armed forces, volunteers, and farmers.

Bhutan’s model shows that large-scale sterilisation and vaccination are achievable with political will and coordinated execution

The Future of Stray Dog Management in India

Experts believe India faces three major challenges:

1. Inconsistent enforcement of sterilisation and vaccination drives.

2. Rising human-dog conflict, especially in urban areas.

3. Open garbage dumps, which sustain stray populations.

Proposed long-term solutions include:

• Expanding shelter-based quarantine for rabid or aggressive dogs.

• Scaling up vaccination and sterilisation campaigns nationwide.

• Promoting adoption and responsible pet ownership.

• Closing open waste systems that attract and feed strays.

As Omesh Bharti, a Himachal Pradesh epidemiologist, puts it: “They have failed to protect the citizens, and they have failed to sterilise and immunise these dogs.”

The road ahead is complex — balancing human safety with animal welfare will require policy innovation, reliable data, and sustained political will.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational and educational purposes only. The content is based on court rulings, expert opinions, and publicly available data. Madura City News does not claim responsibility for the accuracy of third-party statistics, nor does it endorse specific viewpoints. Readers are advised to consult official government sources and health authorities for the most current updates on public health and animal welfare policies.