Why the “Shelter All Stray Dogs” Plan is Regressive and Dangerous

When it comes to public health and street dog management, India once led the world with a humane, science-based model. Today, however, a new Supreme Court order threatens to undo decades of progress — pushing for the mass removal of stray dogs into shelters.

On the surface, this may sound orderly and compassionate. But history — both in India and abroad — has shown that such approaches are cruel, ineffective, and dangerously regressive.

A Step Backward from Proven Success

In August 2025, the Supreme Court of India, in its suo moto case “In Re: City Hounded by Strays, Kids Pay Price,” directed civic bodies to capture all stray dogs, sterilise and immunise them, and not release them back onto the streets.

Animal-welfare experts immediately warned that this was a step back from India’s successful Animal Birth Control (ABC) model — the treat, vaccinate, sterilise, and release method that stabilises dog populations humanely.

After public outcry, the Court modified its order on 22 August 2025 to allow the release of vaccinated, sterilised dogs — except those with rabies or proven aggression.

But the Supreme Court on Friday (November 7, 2025) again directed all States and Union Territories to “forthwith” remove stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and depots, and railway stations, and relocate them “to a designated shelter” after due sterilisation and vaccination in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. The reflects how easily humane progress can be overturned when policies chase optics instead of outcomes. I hate to imagine all the chaos that is sure to happen in the next few weeks which is the time the court has given to implement this as well! How can this plan go wrong with that kind of timeline!

The Tamil Nadu Model: A Blueprint That Works

Tamil Nadu, and especially Chennai, pioneered a model that the world once studied:

Stray dogs are caught humanely, sterilised and vaccinated, given post-operative care, and released back to the same area.

This stabilises local dog populations, prevents the “vacuum effect” (where new unsterilised dogs move in), and drastically cuts rabies risk.

Between 2021 and April 2025, the Greater Chennai Corporation sterilised over 66,000 stray dogs and vaccinated 1.08 lakh — a humane, data-driven success story.
The program works because it aligns science with compassion: it reduces numbers, controls disease, and allows healthy, non-aggressive dogs to live peacefully within their communities.

Why the “Shelter All” Model Fails

1. It’s logistically impossible.

India has millions of street dogs. No city — not even Delhi or Chennai — has the infrastructure to house and care for them all. The result is overcrowded, unsanitary shelters where neglect, disease, and death become inevitable.

2. It increases aggression and disease.

Dogs are territorial animals. When they’re confined, deprived of familiar surroundings, or forced into crowded shelters, stress and aggression skyrocket. Infectious diseases also spread rapidly.

3. It creates a vacuum effect.

When dogs are removed from an area, new unsterilised dogs move in to fill the space. The population soon rebounds, undoing any temporary “clean-up.”

4. It drains resources from real solutions.

Instead of funding sterilisation, vaccination, and awareness campaigns, governments pour money into land, kennels, and manpower — none of which solve the root problem.

5. It is mass culling in disguise.

Under-resourced shelters inevitably turn into holding centres where dogs languish or are euthanised quietly.

What the World Has Already Learned

Countries across the globe have tested — and abandoned — the same “catch-and-confine” approach.

Bali, Indonesia: Culling and removing dogs during a rabies outbreak (2008–2011) backfired. Only mass vaccination brought rabies under control.

Philippines: Shelters overwhelmed by stray removals became breeding grounds for disease and cruelty; many animals perished for lack of care.

Latin America & Asia (e.g., Bangladesh, Ecuador): Global Alliance for Rabies Control found that mass culling or removal is ineffective and inhumane — vaccination and sterilisation are the only sustainable solutions.

Scientific reviews: Shelter studies show that long-term overcrowding leads to stress, aggression, and behavioural decline.

Time and again, the conclusion is the same: you can’t solve the stray-dog problem by hiding it behind shelter walls.

The Way Forward

If India wants safer cities and healthier communities, it must strengthen — not abandon — the ABC model. That means:

• Funding sterilise-vaccinate-release programs until they reach 70–80 percent coverage in every ward.
• Ensuring transparent data tracking, microchipping, and dashboards for accountability.
• Running public awareness campaigns on responsible pet ownership and preventing abandonment.
• Building small, well-maintained shelters only for rabid, injured, or truly aggressive dogs — not as a blanket solution.
• Training municipal staff in humane animal handling and care.

Compassion and Science Can Coexist

Sheltering all dogs might sound compassionate, but in practice it’s neither humane nor sustainable.
Tamil Nadu’s approach — rooted in both empathy and evidence — has been tested, refined, and proven.
It’s time we defend it as a model for the rest of India.

Because humane policies aren’t just about animals.
They’re about what kind of society we choose to be — one that hides suffering behind walls, or one that solves problems with compassion, intelligence, and courage.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

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