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.

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.

The Supreme Court has ordered all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to be rounded up and relocated to shelters, directing authorities to create pounds and not release the animals back onto the streets. The matter has been referred to a three-judge bench,