Supreme Court orders removal of stray dogs in Delhi-NCR; key points

Terming the stray dog menace in the city as "extremely grim", the Supreme Court on Monday directed the Delhi government and civic bodies to start picking up strays from all localities at the earliest and keep them at dog shelters.

While passing a slew of directions to tackle the menace of dog bite incidents, the court warned that if any person or organisation comes in the way of picking up of stray dogs by the authorities, strict action will be taken against them.

Below are the key points:

• Remove all stray dogs from Delhi-NCR localities, including Noida and Gurugram
• Authorities can use force, if necessary, to pick up stray dogs
• Not a single stray dog to be released, says a Bench led by Justice JB Pardiwala
• Will take stern action if captured dogs are released, says the top court
• Asks Delhi Govt, MCD, NDMC to create CCTV monitored dog shelters in 8 weeks
• Dog shelters should have sufficient staff to sterilise and immunise captured dogs
• Asks them to maintain daily record of stray dogs captured and detained
• Contempt of court action against animal rights activists, if they obstruct removal
• Orders authorities to create a helpline within a week to report dog bites
• Also asks them to publish details of places where Rabies vacancies are available