The Supreme Court has ordered that all stray dogs in Delhi and the National Capital Region must be moved to shelters within eight weeks. It warned that anyone obstructing the pickup of stray dogs will face action.

Okay, so this seems like something positive toward managing the growing number of stray animals on city streets, especially given the increasing cases of dog bites and rabies being reported.

However, India, especially cities like Delhi, simply does not have enough shelters to look after homeless animals. In fact, there are not even enough facilities to properly care for homeless people. The task of building adequate shelters within eight weeks appears impossible.

The municipal corporations, responsible for managing this task, have a poor track record when it comes to handling animal care. Often, local dog feeders and residents take more responsibility for stray dogs than municipal bodies. Even eight years might not be enough to create proper shelter facilities, let alone eight weeks.

Another serious issue here is the risk of corruption. Large sums of taxpayers’ money could be allocated for this purpose, but there is a fear it may be misused. Officials might claim to have taken care of thousands of dogs while actually cramming them into shelters with very limited capacity and insufficient food. Without strict accountability, the situation could worsen rather than improve.

Experts and animal welfare workers say the most effective way to control the stray dog population is through neutering. Unfortunately, municipal corporations across India have largely failed to carry out this work properly. When a dog bites someone, dog feeders often face the blame, while the municipal authorities responsible for timely neutering and vaccination remain unaccountable.

The Supreme Court’s order comes from genuine concern for the welfare of stray dogs in Delhi-NCR. But with existing challenges like shelter shortages, weak municipal action, and chances of corruption, the success of this order will be very hard to achieve.