India’s Supreme Court has ordered the release of all stray dogs that were removed from New Delhi streets after sterilization and immunization following an increase in the number of people who were bitten by dogs.

Street dogs are a fixture of nearly every neighbourhood in Delhi, in most cases fed and cared for by residents. So when a child’s apparent rabies death sparked a court order that all dogs must be rounded up and confined to non-existent ‘shelters’,

India’s Supreme Court has changed course on an order that raised hue and cry upon its issue this month to round up and confine the multitude of stay dogs that wander around New Delhi. Following protests by dog lovers,