India’s Supreme Court on 11 August ordered authorities in Delhi and its surrounding National Capital Region to capture every stray dog within eight weeks and relocate the animals to purpose-built shelters. The directive applies to civic bodies such as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the New Delhi Municipal Council and warns of legal action against anyone who obstructs the roundup. The bench cited a sharp rise in dog-bite and rabies cases, particularly involving children. Central government figures show 430,000 dog-bite incidents were reported nationwide in January alone, compared with 3.7 million during all of 2024. India is estimated to have 52.5 million stray dogs, with local media putting Delhi’s share as high as one million and hospital records indicating roughly 2,000 bite cases daily in the capital. Under the ruling, civic agencies must begin by removing 5,000 dogs from identified "high-risk" zones and house them in new shelters equipped to accommodate at least 5,000 animals each, along with sterilisation, vaccination and round-the-clock CCTV surveillance. Officials were also told to set up a 24-hour helpline for reporting dog bites and to publicise locations offering anti-rabies vaccines. Delhi minister Kapil Mishra and Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh said the city would comply, noting that 20 municipal shelters are already operational and that priority would be given to aggressive dogs. Animal-welfare organisations, including PETA India and long-time activist Maneka Gandhi, criticised the order as impractical and contrary to existing animal-birth-control rules, arguing that mass sterilisation and vaccination—not removal—are the only sustainable solutions.