Overview
- A three-judge bench directed authorities to keep dogs out of schools, hospitals, transport hubs and sports complexes, mandate sterilisation and vaccination, and relocate captured animals to designated shelters without returning them to the same spots.
- The order requires regular inspections, proper fencing, and nodal officers for enforcement, with states and UTs to file remedial affidavits before the next hearing on January 13, 2026.
- Mumbai officials cite about 90,600 strays and only eight shelters, warning that permanent housing for tens of thousands—especially near institutions—would demand large new facilities, veterinarians, handlers, and long-term care.
- Chennai reports no dedicated shelters yet and is planning six shelters with the state board, ten ABC centres expected by December, and two facilities for rabies-affected or aggressive dogs, while hospitals consider gates, fencing and bollards to block entry.
- Animal-welfare groups and some communities oppose mass relocation—activists argue it is impractical and inhumane—and a Mumbai school has formally asked to retain its long-cared-for campus dogs, as protesters in Delhi urge a focus on sterilisation and vaccination.