In cities across the country, the feral animals are both loved and feared. The judges are forging into intensely emotional territory by going after the ones in the capital.

Stray dog control has become a lightning rod civic issue in Delhi, NCR and other Indian cities. While many residents see them as a menace, others consider them like family; court directives appear Herculean to implement,

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.