New Delhi: Delhi govt is exploring the possibility of relocating dangerous street dogs to shelters, a move that would require a change in existing laws. At present, the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, mandate that stray dogs be sterilised, vaccinated and returned to their original location, thus prohibiting their relocation. The ABC Rules were framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and the Supreme Court has reinforced the principle that street canines should not be relocated.Sources said that a high-level meeting held at Delhi Secretariat, where chief minister Rekha Gupta and ministers Kapil Mishra and Ashish Sood were present, discussed how the number of dog bite cases was rising in the city. There was a suggestion that the state govt should seek the central govt’s help for changes in the ABC Rules and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, so that canines deemed behaviourally dangerous can be sent to shelters and monitored under expert supervision. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is to build these shelters.Govt sources informed that govt is examining legal options too to empower local bodies to relocate the dogs that habitually bit people in shelter homes where they would be examined by health experts. “After they show improvement under the provision of experts, they could be sent back to their original locations,” one source said.Sources added that Gupta directed officials to treat the matter not merely as an administrative task but as a social responsibility. She also suggested that there was a need for a comprehensive and humane approach to address the crisis. “CM wanted animal lovers, experts and social organisations to be consulted and their suggestions incorporated in the policymaking,” the source said.Officials said that Delhi govt was also in the process of creating a platform to bring together the residents as well as those who cared for these animals in an effort to create a long-term solution in which neither people nor animals were discomforted. This year, 49 cases of rabies have been reported in the capital so far, while over 65,000 street dogs have been sterilised and vaccinated over a six-month period, according to official MCD data.The rabies cases were recorded at the Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases Hospital between Jan and July this year. In the first six months of the year, 35,198 animal bite incidents were reported across the capital. MCD’s standing committee also formed a subcommittee earlier this month to focus exclusively on street dog management. The panel held its first meeting on Thursday, during which it decided to re-engage the NGOs currently involved in the sterilisation programme and enlist more organisations capable of carrying out the same task. An intensive month-long sterilisation drive is also being planned, according to officials.These latest measures come amid growing public fear over frequent dog bite incidents in various localities in the city. Currently, 20 dog sterilisation centres, managed by NGOs, are operating. These centres carry out surgical sterilisation and administer anti-rabies vaccinations before releasing the dogs back in their original locations.