Fact-Check: Does This Video Show a Dog Shelter in Delhi? No, It Is From Iraq

The viral video is from an overcrowded dog shelter in Erbil, Iraq and not from Delhi-NCR region.

.A video claiming to show stray dogs confined in a walled enclosure in Delhi is going viral on social media platforms.

• The claim came after a Supreme Court (SC) order on 11 August directed authorities to remove stray dogs from Delhi-National Capital Region’s (NCR) streets.

(Archives of similar claims can be viewed here and here.)

Is this claim true?: No, this claim is false.

• We were able to trace the video back to March as one from Erbil in Iraq, and not India, as claimed.

What we found: Team WebQoof noticed text in the initial parts of the video which read, "Erbil Iraq."

• We, then, divided the video into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• This led us to an Instagram post featuring a video dated 10 March which had the same visuals as the viral video.

• The user noted that over 10,000 of the region’s 3,00,000 stray dogs were confined in an overcrowded “shelter” lacking adequate food and medical care in Erbil, Iraq.

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• Evidently, the video was uploaded months before the SC's verdict about stray dogs in Delhi-NCR, which was later modified on 22 August.

• We also found a Facebook post featuring the same video by 'The Animal Hope & Wellness Foundation' from 30 June.

• We conducted relevant keyword searches and found a report by Kurdistan 24 from 27 June. It included a similar photo as the viral video, showing a walled structure.

• The report mentioned that Erbil authorities treated and released over 7,000 stray dogs as part of an expanding animal welfare program that focused on vaccination, sterilisation, and humane population control.

What about Delhi-NCR?: On 22 August, the SC revised its 11 August order on stray dogs in Delhi-NCR, directing that sterilised and vaccinated stray dogs must be released back to their original locations.

• It noted that those infected with rabies or showing aggression should be kept in shelters.

• The apex court also banned feeding dogs on public streets, requiring designated feeding areas managed by municipal authorities, with penalties for violators.

Conclusion: The claim is false since it is from Erbil, Iraq, which was posted months before the 11 August Supreme Court order.

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