India's top court has ordered authorities to remove all stray dogs from the streets and place them in permanent shelters, sparking an uproar from animal-rights groups over the feasibility of a decision some say was made in anger.

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.

On August 11, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan observed that instances of dog bites had given rise to an 'extremely grim' situation and ordered the permanent relocation of all strays in Delhi-NCR 'at the earliest'.