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As the Supreme Court prepares to give its final verdict on Friday regarding pleas seeking a stay on its earlier order, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has already issued instructions to capture stray dogs from sensitive locations across the city.
According to the directive, released on August 19 by the deputy director (veterinary services) of the rabies control programme, stray dogs identified as aggressive, ferocious, or habitual biters will be taken away from vulnerable areas and kept in 20 Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres.
The MCD order specifies that the initial focus will be on places considered sensitive, such as government offices, hospitals, schools, and public parks. The order states:
“In compliance of orders dated August 11 passed by the Supreme Court of India in the Suo Moto writ petition, all NGOs engaged through MOU by MCD doing the work of sterilizations and immunization of stray dogs are hereby directed to pick up all ferocious, aggressive and habitual biting stray dogs initially from vulnerable points like govt offices, hospitals etc and same shall be kept in their ABC centers.”
Also Read: Delhi’s Stray Dogs Face Crucial Day: Supreme Court to Decide on Mass Capture Today
The MCD runs 20 ABC centres in collaboration with 12 NGOs to handle sterilisation and immunisation of stray dogs. Under the new plan, veterinary officers in each zone have been instructed to carry out similar drives and hand over dogs to the nearest centre.
The city has been divided ward-wise, with 20 ABC centres assigned to manage 250 municipal wards. Staff members are required to log every dog they capture on the MCD 311 mobile app daily. The order also instructs NGOs to maintain CCTV footage and physical records of all dogs brought in.
MCD officials reported that 83 dogs were picked up in the first two days after the order was issued, while 38 more were captured on Thursday.
However, the plan faces several hurdles. Delhi has not conducted a citywide stray dog census in 16 years, making it difficult to know the exact population. Moreover, the city struggles with staff shortages, limited shelter space, and financial constraints. Officials estimate the cost of maintaining one dog at about ₹110 per day.
Animal welfare groups have expressed strong objections. RT Sharma, president of Pet Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), which manages an ABC centre in Masoodpur, said the order is impractical. He argued, “We cannot obey this order because we don’t have any quarantine area for aggressive dogs. Aggressive dogs aren’t only those who have rabies – they could be aggressive also because of a psychological reason, or anxiety. This needs a professional approach, beyond just picking them up and packing them in the shelter.”
Several NGOs have flagged similar practical difficulties and indicated they may resist implementation of the MCD directive.
