New Delhi. Stray dogs may soon disappear from the streets of New Delhi after India’s top court ordered authorities to begin removing them, sterilizing them, and relocating them permanently to shelters.

In its order Monday, the Supreme Court directed the capital’s civic bodies to immediately capture 5,000 stray dogs from “high-risk areas” and send them to shelters equipped with adequate staff and CCTV surveillance within six to eight weeks.

It is unclear how the court arrived at the figure of 5,000. Estimates put New Delhi’s stray dog population between 500,000 and one million.

While many street dogs are harmless, the court said the move aims to curb rising dog bite cases, including incidents involving children. Some estimates, based on hospital records, suggest the city sees nearly 2,000 dog bite incidents each day.

“The situation is extremely grim,” the court said, adding that the order was issued “in the larger public interest.”

“Infants [and] young children should not at any cost fall prey to stray dogs,” it said.

The court also ordered authorities to set up an animal helpline within a week to report dog bite cases. It warned that individuals or groups obstructing the removal of strays would face “strict” legal consequences, and ruled that captured dogs should not be released back into streets, residential areas, or public spaces.

Animal welfare groups had opposed the case being heard by the court, but on Monday, the justices pushed back. “All these animal activists … will they be able to bring back those who have fallen prey to rabies?” the court asked.

Rabies, spread through bites from infected dogs, attacks the central nervous system and is almost always fatal if untreated.

Shortly after the ruling, Delhi state minister Kapil Mishra said the government would begin rounding up strays. He called the decision a step toward freeing New Delhi “from the fear of rabies and stray animals.”

“Special attention will also be given to the comprehensive welfare of stray animals,” Mishra said in a post on X.