The Supreme Court of India ordered on Monday the elimination of tens of thousands of street dogs in the capital, citing public security concerns after an increase in dog bites.
India is home to millions of street dogs and mortal attacks, particularly in children and the elderly, are regularly reported by the city’s media.
At least 60,000 street dogs live in the streets of Delhi, according to the 2012 Indian cattle census, the most recent data available. Some suggest that this number is now much higher, with large packages of rival dogs patrolling parks and residential neighborhoods throughout the city.
The country represents more than a third of the deaths of global rabies, according to the World Health Organization, a crisis exacerbated by the lack of sterilization programs and legal restrictions on canine sacrifice.
The court asked the city authorities to establish dog shelters in eight weeks and keep the daily records of the captured canines.
“What is important, and without which all exercise would become useless, a single street dog should not be released,” he said, which applies to Delhi and his satellite suburbs, a megacious city of about 30 million people.
The court warned about the action against animal activists that obstruct the elimination of dogs.
He also ordered that a 24 -hour line line be established to inform dog bites and officials must advertise locations where there are vaccines against the rabies available.
The data presented in the Indian Parliament showed more than 3.7 million cases of dog bites and 54 suspicions of human deaths by rage in 2024.
Other estimates stop that the number is almost double high, with Delhi only representing approximately 2,000 cases of dog bites every day.
In middle -class neighborhoods, many of Delhi’s streets are loved by their residents despite the lack of formal owners, with some dogs dressed in special canine jackets to stay hot during the winter.
But they are also a danger to humans, and Indian media regularly report on the abuse of young children due to aggressive dog packages.
