10 Lakh Stray Dogs, Barely Any Shelters: Key Challenges After Top Court Order

The Supreme Court's order to civic bodies in Delhi-NCR to relocate all stray dogs living in residential neighbourhoods to shelters has sparked a massive debate. While animal lovers have slammed the ruling as "inhumane", others have welcomed it and cited incidents of stray dogs attacking children and the elderly. Amid the raging debate, a key question looms large: Can the Supreme Court order be implemented?

Moving lakhs of stray dogs to shelters that do not exist yet is a task that would require significant funding and time. Manpower shortage, dogs' territorial instincts and local resistance are among the other challenges for civic bodies struggling to carry out basic tasks such as keeping neighbourhoods clean and drains unclogged.

NDTV looks at the key challenges in keeping all strays in shelters

How Many Stray Dogs Are In Delhi

About 5.6 lakh stray dogs were found to be living in Delhi in the national capital's last dog Census in 2009. In the past 16 years, no such survey has been conducted, but estimates put the number at around 10 lakh. Even if each shelter houses 500 dogs, it will still require 2,000 shelters. Currently, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) runs just 20 animal control centres. These facilities are for the short-term care of the canines after they are sterilised and released. Even if these centres are converted into full-fledged dog shelters, they would still house no more than 5,000 animals -- less than 5 per cent of the target.

Where Are The Shelters

The top court has asked civic bodies in Delhi NCR to shift stray dogs to shelters and pressed that streets must be "absolutely free of stray dogs". The civic bodies have been asked to share an update within eight weeks. The question is: where are the shelters that the dogs will be moved to? Construction of these shelters will require considerable funds and time, and spaces far from residential neighbourhoods.

Satya Sharma, chairperson of MCD's standing committee, told news agency PTI they would do everything possible to implement the court's order, but admitted that setting up dog shelters would take time due to challenges in land allocation.

Catching, Feeding Challenges

The construction of shelters is just one of the many challenges in implementing the Supreme Court order. MCD currently has about 2-3 vans to catch dogs in every zone, and not enough trained handlers. So, rounding up all strays from residential neighbours will be easier said than done. Also, animal lovers are sure to resist such attempts, leading to potentially tense situations in residential neighbourhoods. The other challenge is feeding lakhs of dogs at the shelters daily, which will easily cost civic bodies hundreds of crores annually. These shelters will also require animal ambulances, veterinary doctors and other resources such as CCTV cameras -- and more funds. Add to that, the salaries of the staff hired for work related to the shelters. MCD officials have said they would meet to discuss shelter construction and funding.

The Stray Dogs Problem

Delhi has reported 26,000 dog bite cases so far this year, a PTI report quoting official data says. Forty-nine cases of rabies have been reported in the national capital till July 31 this year and over 65,000 stray dogs sterilised and vaccinated between January and June.

The Supreme Court bench of Justice JD Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan yesterday said that their ruling is in the public interest. "We are not doing this for us, it is for the public interest. So, no sentiments of any nature should be involved. Action should be taken at the earliest. All these animal activists, will they be able to bring back those who have fallen prey to rabies? We need to make streets absolutely free of stray dogs," the bench said.

The Other Argument

Animal rights organisations and dog lovers argue that the top court ruling is not just cruel, but also impractical. Responding to the top court judgment, Peta India has said that the "displacement and jailing of dogs is not scientific and has never worked". It has also warned that forced removal of lakhs of dogs from the streets will "cause uproar". "It will also ultimately do nothing to curb the dog population, reduce rabies or prevent dog bite incidents. This is because it is unfeasible to build enough dog shelters and displacing dogs causes fights over territory and problems like starvation. Ultimately, dogs make their way back into the same territories, especially when puppies continue to be born." 

The animal rights body has said the rise in the number of stray dogs on Delhi's streets reflects the failure to implement an effective sterilisation programme. "Instead of wasting time, effort, and public resources on ineffective and inhumane displacement drives, an effective sterilisation program is still the solution and urgent need."