SC stray dog order row: How world manages its stray dog populations - from sterilisation drives to strict pet laws

NEW DELHI: Amid a spike in stray dog bite incidents , the Supreme Court on Monday (August 11) directed authorities to remove all stray dogs from Delhi-NCR and house them in shelters -- with a strict ban on releasing them back onto the streets.

“If any individual or organisation comes in the way… we shall proceed to take strict action against any such resistance,” Justice Pardiwala warned, adding that animal activists and “so-called lovers” must answer if they could bring back children lost to rabies. “When the situation demands, you have to act,” the bench noted.

What happens next?
The court’s order effectively means that every stray dog in Delhi-NCR will be taken to a pound or shelter home -- facilities where captured dogs are provided with food, medical treatment, and care. Officials have been cautioned that contempt proceedings will follow if the drive is obstructed.

How other countries manage strays
Globally, approaches range from humane control to stricter enforcement. Here's country-by-country explainer on how others manage free-roaming or stray dogs, organised by the main policy levers.
Europe
Netherlands
Often cited as having virtually no stray dogs after decades of reforms: aggressive CNVR campaigns, compulsory identification or registration, and strong abandonment enforcement. Adoption culture and historic dog-tax or breeding controls also shaped behaviour.

United Kingdom
Microchipping is mandatory (England) under 2015 regulations; councils impound strays for 7 days to trace owners, then rehome via rescues (or, if necessary, euthanise). Abandonment and welfare offences carry fines and potential prison under the Animal Welfare Act.

Switzerland
Strict registration & microchipping (Amicus database), routine taxes at the canton level, and strong bans on abandonment—violations can trigger fines or jail. Tight breeding/sale rules keep inflow controlled.

Germany (and wider EU trend)
Germany’s animal welfare framework empowers federal rules on permanent identification and trade restrictions; national and EU moves are tightening microchipping/registration to choke illicit supply. Public campaigns push FINDEFIX pet registries.

Asia
Thailand (Phuket as model)
The Soi Dog Foundation runs one of the world’s largest CNVR programmes -- catch, neuter, vaccinate, return at scale -- credited with slashing Phuket’s stray population and driving rabies risk toward zero; the model has been replicated across Thailand.

Bhutan
National, government-led accelerated dog population management & rabies control programme - by 2023, Bhutan reported 100% sterilisation of free-roaming dogs alongside vaccination, unusual for its complete national scope.

China (with a Beijing case study)
China frames strays primarily as a rabies challenge: mandatory registration + annual rabies vaccination for owned dogs; cities like Beijing have achieved 80% canine immunity and zero human rabies since 2021, via mass vaccination, surveillance and public education.

Japan
Pet control relies on capture, quarantine, adoption promotion, widespread low-cost spay/neuter, and legal allowances for euthanasia (in declining numbers). National efforts have significantly lowered culling in recent years, though practices and rates vary by prefecture.

South Korea
Revised animal protection laws increased penalties for abandonment and enable police investigations; TNR widely targets community cats and, where appropriate, dogs - aimed at humane population stabilisation without large-scale culling.

Turkey
After CNVR struggled with patchy enforcement/funding, new national law (2024) requires municipalities to collect, sterilise, vaccinate, shelter and adopt out strays -- while allowing euthanasia of sick/aggressive animals. The law has sparked mass protests over culling fears and shelter capacity.

Middle East & North Africa
Morocco
Since 2019, Morocco has scaled a national TNVR policy: capture, sterilise, rabies vaccinate, tag, and return unless the animal is dangerous/very ill. The state reports ~$23 million invested over five years and is adding dedicated TNVR centres in multiple cities.

Americas & Australia
United States (Austin, Texas as a “no-kill” city)
Austin formalised a “no-kill” benchmark (=90% live release rate) by expanding foster/adoption pipelines, rescue partnerships, and behaviour or medical rehab - while keeping public-safety tools (dangerous-dog rules, targeted enforcement).

Brazil (São Paulo and others)
Large cities blend mass sterilisation, vaccination, and adoption fairs, often with public-education drives on responsible ownership. (Programme specifics and impact metrics vary by municipality and year; São Paulo is commonly cited for scale.)

Australia
States regulate: microchipping/registration is widely mandatory (e.g., Queensland; NSW), councils run pounds with defined holding periods and adoption/rehoming pathways; desexing requirements apply in several jurisdictions.

What actually works (and why)
1) Make every dog traceable. Universal microchipping + registration changes owner behaviour and lets councils reunite quickly; it also underpins fines for abandonment.

2) Run CNVR/TNVR at scale, not sporadically. Fragmented sterilisation fails; where coverage is high and sustained (Phuket/Bhutan), births and bites collapse and rabies risk falls.

3) Pair population work with rabies systems. Mass dog vaccination, PEP access for humans, and bite surveillance deliver visible public-health wins (e.g., Beijing).

4) Invest in adoption pipelines - not just shelters. “No-kill” cities show you need foster networks, rescue partners and behaviour support, or shelters fill and euthanasia creeps back. (Austin.)

5) Enforce abandonment and regulate supply. Stricter breeder/dealer rules, penalties for dumping, and controls on online trade reduce inflow. (UK, Switzerland, Germany/EU.)