Relief! SC Ruling On Stray Dog Menace Hope To Ridden-Indore

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): With stray dogs biting him, her and them, city streets are turning into their playground and residents are just about fed up.

In Indore, it seems no one is safe from the sharp teeth and claws of the city’s growing stray dog population. Kids, adults and the elderly all find themselves dodging unexpected attacks, while these four-legged roamers rule the streets—scattering garbage, marking territories and turning once-clean sidewalks into no-go zones.

The city, famed for its cleanliness, is now wrestling with a messy reality: stray dogs are making their presence felt everywhere and residents are barking mad.

With dog bites soaring and public frustration reaching a boiling point, Indore faces a tough challenge to reclaim its streets and restore order, especially after the Supreme Court’s recent wake-up call demanding urgent action.

The recent Supreme Court verdict on stray dog management in Delhi-NCR has reverberated across the country, compelling cities like Indore to confront their persistent stray dog problems with renewed urgency.

The apex court, through suo motu action, expressed serious concern over the sharp rise in dog bite cases and rabies-related fatalities, criticizing the inadequacy of current laws and the lack of effective implementation by authorities.

Indore, hailed as the cleanest city in India, finds itself at a crossroads, struggling to balance animal welfare with growing public safety and sanitation challenges posed by a burgeoning stray dog population. The SC directives and observations have reignited debates involving municipal authorities, animal activists, public health officials and citizens alike.

Welcoming the SC's ruling Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav said, 'I have always maintained that earlier Supreme Court orders tied the hands of municipal bodies. Now there is a ray of hope as the apex court has taken the matter seriously on its own.'

The Mayor pointed out that, as an initial step, the court has ordered the relocation of more than 5k stray dogs to shelter houses in the NCR region. He expressed confidence that such directions should not remain confined to NCR but be extended to municipal bodies across the country to curb dog bite cases.

'If these guidelines are limited to NCR, Indore Municipal Corporation will file an intervention application before the Supreme Court to present the city’s case,' Bhargav stated. 'We will request similar directions for big cities like Indore. The corporation is fully prepared to set up shelter houses and relocate stray dogs,' he said.

Bhargav added that the development signals a welcome shift from earlier restrictions, paving the way for a practical resolution to the street dog menace.

SC verdict: Highlights

• The Supreme Court initiated suo motu action, recognizing the alarming surge in dog bites and rabies deaths and the urgent need for remedial measures.

• It strongly criticized the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, labelling them “absurd” for mandating that sterilised dogs be released back into their original territories, a practice that perpetuates risks.

• The court censured government officials and local bodies for lax implementation of the rules, highlighting systemic non-compliance and administrative inertia.

• A significant element of the verdict focused on the role of animal rights activists and welfare groups. While affirming the importance of animal protection, the court emphasized that such efforts must not jeopardize human safety. It called for these groups to cooperate fully with municipal authorities and judicial orders, warning against any obstruction that impeded effective dog population control.

• The court directed the immediate, temporary removal of stray dogs from residential and commercial localities in Delhi-NCR, prioritizing public health without undermining humane treatment.

• Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), local municipal bodies and civic authorities were urged to actively participate in sterilisation, vaccination and anti-rabies programmes, ensuring timely and comprehensive compliance.

• The verdict underscored the constitutional necessity of balancing animal welfare with the fundamental right of citizens to live in a safe, clean, and healthy environment.

Indore’s stray dog crisis: Scale and scope

Indore faces a daunting stray dog problem, with official estimates placing the population at around 3 lakh animals. The Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has sterilized approximately 2.25 lakh dogs, yet 80,000 to 1 lakh dogs remain unsterilized, continuing to pose significant risks.

Sterilization efforts, while commendable, have not kept pace with population growth. The IMC currently sterilizes 30 to 35 dogs per day, far short of the estimated 140 dogs per day needed to effect meaningful population control in a reasonable time.

Public health impact: Rising dog bite incidents

Data collected from 25 government hospitals across Indore reveals a staggering rise in dog bite cases over three years:

• 47,459 cases in 2022–23,

• 55,189 cases in 2023–24,

• 52,486 cases reported by March 31, 2025.

These figures translate to more than 1.5 lakh dog bite victims requiring medical intervention, highlighting a worsening public health crisis.

Hukumchand Polyclinic Hospital, or Lal Hospital, the sole government facility in Indore equipped to administer anti-rabies treatment, treats over 100 dog bite victims daily. The majority suffer Category III wounds—severe injuries involving single or multiple transdermal bites, scratches, or broken skin—necessitating immediate and rigorous treatment to prevent fatal rabies infection, as per Dr Ashutosh Sharma.

In the final quarter of the last financial year, the hospital recorded:

• 4,535 cases in January,

• 4,024 cases in February,

• 4,106 cases in March.

The immense pressure on this lone facility underscores the urgent need to expand medical infrastructure to handle the escalating caseload.

Sanitation issue: Dogs defecate on doorsteps

Stray dogs significantly disrupt Indore’s acclaimed cleanliness and sanitation. They defecate on streets, pavements and outside private residences, undermining the gains achieved by the city’s robust cleanliness initiatives.

Residents across Indore express widespread frustration over this ongoing nuisance. Many resort to hanging red plastic bottles outside their homes—a traditional deterrent believed to keep dogs away. While this method shows some effectiveness in specific areas, it largely fails to stop dogs from fouling doorsteps and nearby streets.

This limited success highlights a broader challenge: piecemeal, traditional deterrents cannot replace comprehensive, well-enforced strategies to control the stray dog population. Without strict measures, public hygiene remains at risk and residents continue to bear the brunt of this persistent problem.

Rakhi Jaisinghani

“Stray dogs tear open garbage bags hung outside gates for door-to-door waste collection, scattering refuse across streets and lanes,” Rakhi Jaisinghani, a homemaker said.  She added that this behaviour not only compromised waste management efforts but also created unhygienic conditions, attracting rats, cats and other pests, thereby exacerbating the public health hazard.

Growing threat to citizens

Beyond sanitation, stray dogs present a direct threat to human safety. Groups of dogs have been known to attack pedestrians, especially vulnerable groups, such as children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

Pramod Dafaria

Pramod Dafaria, industrialist and former president of the Association of Industries, Madhya Pradesh, said: “Stray dogs create multiple problems for the common people. They are a hurdle to maintaining cleanliness. More importantly, when they bite children, old people or even young adults, the victims must undergo painful anti-rabies injections. For a better quality of life, stray dogs should be relocated from the city just as large animals like cows and buffaloes have been moved.”

Legal authority and implementation: Nationwide applicability

Nimish Pathak

Advocate Nimish Pathak clarified the Supreme Court verdict’s authority, saying, “The verdict holds binding authority across the entire country.” He added, “It empowers state and district-level committees to implement the directives without requiring further judicial intervention.” Pathak explained, “These committees are authorized to sanction and enforce the orders as per the Supreme Court’s directives.” He emphasized, “The detailed order sheets accompanying the verdict provide clear guidelines for implementation, which municipal bodies and other agencies must follow in letter and spirit.” Addressing enforcement, he said, “Requests for compliance or clarification can be made, but no other legal court needs to be approached.” He concluded that “This streamlined legal framework aims to ensure swift and effective action against the stray dog menace nationwide.”

Advocate Nitin Singh Bhati said, “Every colony and every society has two sets of people, dog lovers and dog haters but the issue remains unresolved. Indore will face the same heat of court if it does not comply with the earlier orders in implementing the same. As stray dogs always come in groups and attack people, therefore dog activists should comply with the division bench order in entirety without any lethargic approach.”

Views from animal rights activists: A spectrum of opinions

The court’s ruling and Indore’s situation have elicited mixed responses from animal welfare advocates.

Priyanshu Jain, an animal rights activist, warned: “It is practically impossible to shelter tens of thousands of dogs. Dogs are territorial and will fight when confined together. Their average lifespan of 10 to 12 years demands sustained care, including treatment for illnesses. Removing dogs from streets disrupts ecological cycles, potentially increasing populations of rats and cats. Similar experiments, such as in Jaipur, were unsuccessful.”

Rupa Patwardhan, another animal activist, criticized the verdict: “This is not a solution but a result of personal bias against dogs. Funds should be diverted to education, healthcare and roads instead of shelters for homeless dogs who are already cared for by communities. Displacing dogs will not curb rabies but will create uproar and cruelty.”

In support of humane shelters, businesswoman and animal welfare advocate Soumya Upadhyaya observed:

“This initiative protects both dogs and humans. Shelters offer safe refuge from stone-pelting, accidents and cruelty, while reducing dog bite incidents. Institutions we worked with on shelter projects found this approach practical and sustainable.”

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IN NUMBERS

• Total stray dog population 300,000

• Dogs sterilised so far 225,000

• Dogs yet to be sterilised 80,000–100,000

• Current daily sterilisation 30–35 dogs

• Required daily sterilisation 140 dogs

• Dog bite cases (2022–2025) 155,000+

• Daily dog bite victims 144

• Anti-rabies treatment facility 1 (Lal Hospital)

• Patients treated daily (Lal) 100+

The way forward: A multi-pronged strategy

• Experts and civic bodies agree on the need for a comprehensive strategy:

• Accelerate sterilisation and vaccination programmes with enhanced veterinary infrastructure and personnel.

• Expand healthcare facilities beyond Lal Hospital to provide timely anti-rabies treatment across Indore.

• Develop humane shelters for stray dogs relocated from densely populated areas to prevent cruelty and reduce street populations.

• Increase public awareness through education campaigns promoting safe interactions with stray dogs and responsible waste disposal.

• Enforce regulations strictly, with accountability mechanisms to ensure municipal compliance and judicial oversight.