There were 15 million stray dogs recorded nationwide in a 2019 Indian census
There were 15 million stray dogs recorded nationwide in a 2019 Indian census AFP

India's Supreme Court on Friday scaled back its order to catch and remove tens of thousands of stray dogs from the capital, after feasibility questions about the sheer scale of the exercise.

The court earlier this month handed city authorities a deadline of eight weeks to round up all dogs, ordering that they be held in shelters and not released.

Indian media had suggested there were as many as a million stray dogs in Delhi, although only nationwide figures are available, with 15 million stray dogs registered in the government's 2019 livestock census.

On Friday, the court issued a fresh order, saying that stray dogs should be "released after they are vaccinated and sterilised" unless they are suspected to have rabies or "display aggressive behaviour".

As the court ruling was issued, pro-dog activists celebrated.

"Everyone was praying", said Sonali Kalra, 59, a businesswoman. "People are looking after street dogs like their own children, but it's not practical that they all can be taken into private homes -- so the focus is sterilisation."

In 2024, there were more than 25,000 reported cases of dog bites in Delhi, a sprawling megacity of 30 million people, according to government figures, but zero recorded human deaths from rabies.

The city's media, however, regularly report on attacks by stray dogs, particularly on children and the elderly, a crisis exacerbated by a lack of sterilisation programmes and legal restrictions on canine culling.

The initial order was supported by those angered at the surge of dogs on the streets.

Countrywide, there were 3.7 million cases of dog bites, and 54 recorded human deaths from rabies last year.

India, with 1.4 billion people the world's most populous country, accounts for one of the highest number of deaths from rabies worldwide.

Dog bites and scratches cause 99 percent of human rabies cases and can be prevented through dog vaccination and bite prevention, according to the World Health Organization.

In middle class neighbourhoods, many of Delhi's strays are beloved by their residents despite lacking formal owners, with some dogs clothed in special canine jackets to keep warm during the winter.

College student Aanvi Singh, 20, who also took part in a rally supporting the dogs, said the activists had "won".

"I am going to celebrate on the way with all the dogs that I meet," she said.