Removal of Free-Living Dogs

In light of the Supreme Court order of November 2025, this page collects expert opinion, primary documents, and press coverage on the impact of removing free-living dogs. There are several reasons why removal is unsound for the Indian milieu; the resources below present the scientific rationale and recommendations. See also the summary: The Scientific, Legal, and Ethical Failures of Street Dog Relocation.

Downloadable documents

• Literature Review — The Scientific, Legal, and Ethical Failures of Street Dog Relocation (PDF) — by Sindhoor Pangal, Dr. Anindita Bhadra, Dr. Balaji Chandrashekar, Dr. Chinny Krishna, Dr. Asher Jesudoss, Sowjanya Vijayanagar, Annelieke Laninga. Free to download and reuse.
• Open letter — Over 2,000 citizens and leading experts warn: India's mega dog-shelter push risks a public-health emergency and a ₹6,000-crore fiscal disaster
• Technical Submission on behalf of The Dog Lab, IISER Kolkata (PDF)
• Mass dog culling is not an effective method for rabies control (PDF) — Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC).
• The success of the ABC-AR programme in India (PDF) — Dr. Chinny Krishna.

Articles and press coverage

1. The Dangerous Illusion of the 'Quick Fix': Why Mass Dog Relocation is an Ecological and Ethical Disaster for India — BHARCS Blog, 22 Nov 2025
2. Four Weeks in, the Quick Fix of Relocation is Failing India's Public Health and its Professionals — BHARCS Blog, 13 Dec 2025
3. Explainer | The ABC of stray dogs — The New Indian Express, 15 Dec 2025
4. Judicial Overreach On Four Legs — Times of India, 19 Dec 2025
5. 'This is what coexistence looks like': Pune society's dog-feeding area presents a simple solution to a complex urban issue — The Indian Express, 23 Dec 2025
6. Barking up the wrong tree — The Economic Times, 1 Jan 2026
7. Relocation will aggravate human-dog conflict — The Times of India, 3 Jan 2026
8. Animal welfare experts say ABC Rules only legal way to control stray dogs, rabies — The New Indian Express, 3 Jan 2026
9. Don't Go By Bad Logic, Cooked-Up Data — TOI+, 5 Jan 2026
10. By standing up for stray animals, India can show the world a better way — The Indian Express, 5 Jan 2026
11. Mass dog shelters are a public health risk. Science over optics must be the way to go — The Indian Express, 6 Jan 2026
12. Why Citizen-care of Free-Living Dogs Is a Public-Health Necessity — BHARCS Blog, 7 Jan 2026

See the visual timeline of the Supreme Court case — from the July 2025 trigger to the May 2026 final judgment.