India’s top court has ordered authorities in New Delhi to start removing all stray dogs from its streets and to sterilize and relocate them to shelters permanently.

India's top court has ordered authorities in Delhi and its suburbs to move all stray dogs from streets to animal shelters. The court expressed concerns over rising "menace of dog bites leading to rabies" and gave an eight-week deadline to officials to finish the task.

An order by India’s top court to authorities in capital Delhi and its surrounding areas to relocate all stray dogs to shelters within eight weeks, citing a rise in rabies cases, has sparked a debate between advocates of animal rights and public safety.