BS EDIT: Canine Concerns: Why Shelters Won’t End the Stray Dog Crisis

By Business StandardPublished On Aug 13, 2025

SC Orders Mass Shelter Drive

Aug 11: Supreme Court orders all Delhi-NCR strays into shelters, regardless of sterilisation or vaccination

Strict Targets, Activist Alarm

Shelters must house 5,000 dogs with facilities; fears of cruelty over harsh enforcement

The Numbers Behind the Crisis

2019: 20 mn strays; likely triple. Dog-bite cases up from 2.1 mn (2022) to 3.7 mn (2024). Rabies deaths disputed

Shelter-Only Plan Won’t Work

Municipalities lack land, funds, and capacity. Dogs removed from one area are soon replaced

ABC Rules Offer a Solution

Sterilise, vaccinate, return dogs to localities. Proven in Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur

Need for Consistent Action

ABC is low-cost, NGO-led, but ignored by most cities — leaving dogs to bear the cost of inaction