New Delhi: Days after a two-judge Supreme Court bench initiated suo motu proceedings and directed authorities in Delhi-NCR to relocate all stray dogs to dedicated shelters, a three-judge bench of the top court, hearing a plea challenging the measure, reserved its interim order Thursday but declined to place a stay on the earlier judgment.
The directive, issued earlier this week, triggered strong reactions from various quarters, including animal rights activists. Hours after the order went public, protests erupted outside the Supreme Court. Later in the day, demonstrators took their agitation to India Gate, where the Delhi Police detained several.
On Thursday, the Delhi Police registered an FIR against the protesters, charging them under Section 223 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita—penalty for individuals who intentionally disobey lawful orders issued by public officials and cause harm or obstruction to others.
Protesters argue that the situation will only worsen once stray dogs are put in shelters, in line with the court order, since there will be an increased risk of rabies spreading. Delhi alone is currently home to an estimated 10 lakh stray dogs, according to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) data. However, there are only 20 Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres operational under MCD in partnership with NGOs.
These centres serve as temporary holding units for sterilisation procedures and the housing of dogs for up to 10 days post-surgery before their release to their original territories, in compliance with the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2023.
According to a 2025 report, India’s total population of dogs, including strays and pets, stands at 10.2 million. It is the eighth highest across the globe.
Animal rights activists warn that the Capital lacks the infrastructure, funding, and space required to implement the court’s order effectively. The issue, however, is not unique to India. Many countries around the world have faced similar challenges, with varying degrees of success in managing stray animal populations.
ThePrint looks at how some have established effective, long-term systems, while others continue to search for sustainable solutions.
Also Read: ‘This is not personal’—what Supreme Court said in stray dogs order that sparked outrage
Euthanasia and mass culling
The United States has adopted various measures to manage the stray dog population. However, their reliance has been on rescue operations and dedicated shelters. According to 2024 data, the estimated figure of dogs and cats in the US shelters stood at 5.8 million. That was a slight reduction, evenly split between dogs and cats, when compared to 2023.
A common practice in shelters in the US is that they come with adoption facilities to balance the intake of stray animals. The number of dogs adopted annually from shelters is 1.6 million, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) data. However, over one-third of the dogs adopted as pets come from breeders.
This system of sheltering and adoption has its drawbacks. The length of stay for animals in such shelters is limited. It has increased over the past five years, particularly for large dogs, which has also resulted in restricted space for new arrivals.
Therefore, the US resorts to euthanasia despite controversies around the measure. The number of stray dogs euthanised in 2023 was roughly 3,34,000. The available data also shows that the same year, owners reunited with 5,54,000 dogs, whereas other organisations took in 5,24,000 dogs.
The US is not just one country practising euthanasia to manage stray dog populations. Russia, ranked fifth in the world, with a total dog population of 17.6 million, also utilises the same method. In 2023, President Vladimir Putin signed a law, and under it, regional authorities can choose the regulatory rules for homeless dogs. This legislation explicitly gives the green signal to euthanasia as a population control measure.
Since euthanasia is considered a controversial measure, some countries have also turned their heads to the far extreme practice of mass culling. Pakistan is one among them. The country’s daily reported deaths due to rabies remain between 2,000 and 5,000 in a year.
The province of Sindh records the highest number of stray dogs in the country. Karachi, the capital city of Sindh, reports the highest number of dog bite incidents nationwide. In 2020, the Sindh government pledged to replace mass culling with a large-scale vaccination drive to manage the stray population. However, the drive has seen little progress, and the programme remains largely unimplemented.
In February 2021, government authorities culled even those dogs that had been vaccinated and collared by private shelters and NGOs —a move that rendered the efforts of animal welfare groups ineffective. Authorities in Sindh (Karachi) conducted indiscriminate mass culling of dogs in early 2021.
In Turkey, of the approximately two million homeless dogs, only 1,05,000 can live in the space available at one time. A 2024 law requires authorities to capture homeless dogs, place them in shelters, and euthanise dogs deemed dangerous or seriously ill.
The countries that have achieved significant success in reducing stray dog populations are not those that relied on elimination methods such as euthanasia or mass culling.
Also Read: Dog bites & rabies deaths: What data reveals about complex crisis behind stray dogs debate
Neutering & multi-faceted policy for dog management
To check the stray dog overpopulation, several nations have been attempting to reach a long-term goal. Rather than going for methods such as euthanasia and mass sheltering, they follow a multi-faceted, long-term strategy, which has also given positive results.
One example is the Netherlands. The country took lessons from its past failed attempts. Dog ownership in the Netherlands used to symbolise social status. The well-established kept purebreds, and the working class kept the hybrid breeds to use them for labour.
The Netherlands learned from failed measures, such as a 19th-century dog tax, and gradually implemented comprehensive policies over the decades. However, the country witnessed a mass abandonment of dogs, following a rabies outbreak. Then, the government introduced a tax on dogs to check their population, but it had an unintended effect—more citizens gave up on their ownership responsibilities.
That, in turn, led to the creation of the first animal protection agency in 1864.
A century later, the government introduced the Animal Protection Act, which criminalised abuse. Fast forward to 2023: the Netherlands became the first nation in the world to be declared free of stray dogs. Now, one in five Dutch households owns a dog.
Another European nation, Spain, has a total dog population of nine million, according to 2025 data. Similar to the Netherlands, the country has practised a multi-level approach. There, the autonomous regions manage stray populations through different measures. It includes neutering and socialising. Microchipping of every dog is also a mandatory practice, while euthanasia remains strictly banned across the nation.
There are also countries, such as Bulgaria, which are exemplary of why euthanasia is an inefficient method for controlling the stray dog population. Mass culling was practised widely in Bulgaria, which killed 70,000 dogs in the 1999-2006 period. As it did not produce the intended results, the country followed an approach—Catch-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (CNVR)—widely deemed as one of the most effective measures to manage stray dog populations. The local municipalities played a key role in its implementation.
This method followed a systematic order, starting with veterinary teams initially capturing the dogs and transporting them. The next step was to neuter them and mark them. It ensured that dogs did not give birth to puppies and kept the population in check. De-worming and vaccination against rabies were also part of the process before the dogs returned to their original habitat, with an issued passport.
The Bulgarian capital of Sophia witnessed a decline of 6,400 in the stray population between 2007 and 2018. The numbers have consistently lowered with increased sterilisation rates.
Bhutan has also achieved great success in stray dog management, with a model based on long-term sterilisation and vaccination campaigns. The Bhutan government launched the ‘Nationwide Accelerated Dog Population Management and Rabies Control Programme’ in 2021. The initiative to sterilise and vaccinate strays spanned over 14 years.
By 2023, the country had succeeded in 100 percent sterilisation of its stray population. The project, which began in 2009, included microchipping 32,000 pet dogs. The initiative, involving 12,812 personnel and a budget of Rs 29 crore, is regarded as a regional benchmark in humane stray dog control.
While sterilisation and vaccination show the best results, several countries have enforced strict laws and punishments for tackling stray dog overpopulation.
Stringent laws & punishments for dogs & owners
Australia has a set-up where if anyone finds a stray dog or cat, it becomes a legal obligation to report the stray to the local authorities. Those who fail to do so are penalised.
The country also mandates microchipping and registration to find the owners of lost pets. In cases where there is no owner, an adoption facility is in place, but with a compulsory holding period and strict rules to complete the procedure.
In Switzerland, penalties for abandoning dogs helped achieve nearly zero such cases. Any citizen who abandons dogs or any other animal is punishable up to three years in prison. Similar to Australia, the registration of every dog is mandatory with the cantonal authorities. In some cases, cantons are also obliged to complete a competency course before acquiring a pet.
Despite all of this, certain cantons eventually euthanise unclaimed strays. It is also legally allowed to shoot dogs in instances where they repeatedly pursue wildlife.
On the other hand, Denmark strictly prohibits shooting stray dogs. Instead, the country holds owners accountable for their pets causing any disturbance or straying. If a dog causes issues repeatedly, the owner faces a fine of up to DKK 2,000 (€270).
The country has also made amendments to its laws, making assessment by a certified dog expert compulsory for euthanising dogs, which attack a person or animal. The police alone cannot decide such cases.
Ojas Jaiswal is an alum of ThePrint School of Journalism, currently interning with ThePrint.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: SC’s stray dog order lit a match in Delhi. Are they a menace or companions?