Delhi’s best move? Intensify SVR protocols per the 2023 ABC Regulations. This is the minimum effective intervention. Bhutan is a good example of a country that achieved positive results by implementing a Catch-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release program. Empower primary stakeholders such as RWAs and municipal staff, provide steady operational funding, and keep NGOs closely involved. This approach will cost less, work better, and, crucially, uphold both public health and animal welfare in the long run.

A committee set up by the Delhi Assembly in 2019 estimated the stray dog population to be around 8,00,000. To manage this large number, there’s a need for significant infrastructure. If each shelter can hold 500 dogs, then 2,000 shelters would be needed, which is not possible in just six weeks. Building 2,000 shelters would cost around 10,000 crore rupees, and feeding one million dogs daily at 40 rupees each would cost over 1,000 crore every year. That’s a huge financial burden that could lead to fiscal constraints and misallocation of resources.

The order requires the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to capture, sterilize, vaccinate, and keep stray dogs in shelters. However, this order lacks a clear long-term plan. Right now, Delhi has only about 20 animal control centers, which can hold around 2,000 to 3,000 dogs. Yet, various estimates indicate that the city has roughly a million stray dogs.

Even though stray dogs cause negative externalities like attacks, bites, and rabies risks, they also provide some benefits. They help control pests, clean up waste, and offer emotional comfort to people who love pets. Sudden relocation of these dogs can lead to unintended consequences, such as overcrowding in shelters, spreading diseases like leptospirosis near shelters, more rodents in residential areas, new stray dogs coming in from nearby places, and a loss of herd immunity against rabies, as vaccinated dogs act as a protective barrier.

The Animal Birth Control (ABC) Regulations of 2023, under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, promote the Sterilize-Vaccinate-Release (SVR) method to manage stray dog populations and reduce rabies. The National Action Plan for Dog-Mediated Rabies Elimination (NAPRE) aims to end rabies by 2030. It suggests widespread dog vaccination, targeting at least 70% of the canine population over three years. The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers this a cost-effective strategy.

This Supreme Court order has pitfalls because it seems to contradict the Constitution and the 2023 ABC Regulations. Article 51 A(g) requires citizens to show compassion towards animals, while Article 243 W asks municipalities to prevent cruelty to animals. In the Jallikattu case (2014), the Supreme Court used Article 21 to argue that animals have a right to live with dignity.

The SC order shows the growing frustration over the plight of these voiceless animals, whose numbers have surged only due to the government’s failures in urban planning, waste management, and the effective implementation of sterilization programs.