India's top court orders Delhi authorities to move stray dogs to shelters

NEW DELHI, Aug 11 (Reuters) - India's top court ordered authorities in the capital Delhi and its suburbs on Monday to relocate all stray dogs to shelters within eight weeks, according to the Live Law website, after media reports of a rise in cases of rabies, especially among children.

The Indian government said in April that nearly 430,000 cases of dog bites had been reported across the country in January, compared with 3.7 million cases all through 2024.

India has 52.5 million stray dogs, according to a State of Pet Homelessness survey by Mars Petcare, while 8 million homeless dogs are in shelters.