India’s growing stray dog population: A silent crisis that no governments are paying attention to
On a late March morning this year, a six-year-old boy was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs in Ludhiana, Punjab. In just a matter of three months, he was the fourth child fatality in the district. He was playing near a garbage dump when the dogs attacked, fatally injuring him. Just weeks later in Goa, a 20-month-old toddler wandered outside her home. Stray dogs saw her as an easy prey and attacked. Her gruesome wounds proved fatal.
In one of the most recent incidents, 22-year-old Kabaddi player Brajesh Solanki died of rabies in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr. Solanki was bitten by a puppy two months ago while rescuing it. He neither informed anybody of the bite nor took anti-rabies vaccination. Last week, he felt numbness during practice. He was shifted to the district hospital and then to Noida when his health worsened, where he was diagnosed with rabies. After suffering from horrifying symptoms for around a week, he succumbed to the disease.
These incidents were once isolated and rare. However, now they have become disturbingly frequent across India. They shine a harsh light on a silent crisis that has been intensifying over the years. The explosion in the stray dog population has resulted in devastating consequences for public safety and health. Still, the central government, state governments and local authorities have failed to put an end to the problem of stray dogs that is quickly becoming a menace for the public.
Surging stray dog population since independence
Street dogs have long co-existed with humans in Indian cities and villages. However, their numbers today are unprecedented and alarming. During the colonial era and even for several decades after independence, the standard method of dog population control involved culling, or in the literal parliamentary language, “destroying the dogs”.
According to documents accessed by OpIndia from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, every year thousands of dogs were killed by local authorities in an attempt to control their numbers. However, despite such drastic measures, the population continued to grow. It pointed to the failure of kill-based strategies in the Indian context. However, the numbers remained somewhat under control, and if the method had been mixed with sterilisation campaigns, it would have controlled the population of street dogs to a great extent. Alas, it did not happen the way it should have.
The 2012 Livestock Census noted that there were around 1.71 crore stray dogs in India. In 2019, the reported number was 1.53 crore. While the stats show decrease in number of strays, experts raised questions over the accuracy of these figures. They cited under-reporting and inconsistent survey methods. State of Pet Homelessness Index of India states estimates suggested in 2024 that there might be over 6 crore stray dogs in India, probably the highest in the world.
This growth is not limited to cities alone. Rural areas have witnessed a dramatic increase in free-roaming dogs. Decades ago, the issue of stray dogs was still manageable but now it has become a crisis of overwhelming proportions. The reasons behind this surge are urbanisation, uncollected garbage, poor planning, an ineffective population control system and the increasing number of so-called dog lovers who have made it their life’s motto to ensure authorities cannot even move dangerous dogs to other locations, let alone cull them.
Why the stray dog population remains unchecked
One of the main reasons for the unchecked growth in the stray dog population is policy paralysis surrounding animal control. Supreme Court-backed Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules were first introduced in 2001. The only permissible method to manage stray dogs, according to the new rules, was sterilisation and vaccination, followed by release at the same location. The Supreme Court, on the behest of pro-dog “animal welfare” groups, passed a judgement making it impossible for the authorities and the public to get rid of the dogs, even by shifting them to a safer location where animal-human interaction could be minimised.
While the rules appear “humane” in theory, it is extremely hard to implement them in practice, especially at the scale required to make a dent in the stray dog population. To effectively reduce numbers, at least 70% of the stray dog population in a given area must be sterilised. However, in most Indian cities, the coverage is reportedly patchy at best.
Municipal bodies struggle with limited funding, insufficient infrastructure, lack of trained personnel and backlash from animal welfare groups on top of overall incompetence and gross negligence. The result is a slow and ineffective sterilisation effort, unable to match the breeding rate of strays.
Furthermore, in many Indian communities, feeding stray dogs is considered an act of kindness and, in some cases, even has religious merit. People routinely offer leftover food to stray dogs. If that is not enough, there are thousands of individuals and organisations across the country that specially cook food for stray dogs and feed them wherever and whenever they want, without considering the plea of locals who have to face the consequences of the formation of packs of dogs as people feed them at those locations.
While compassionate, such practices inadvertently support larger dog populations by providing easy access to food, especially in neighbourhoods where waste disposal is already poor. Garbage dumps, overflowing bins, and food leftovers on streets become regular feeding grounds for entire packs.
Mismanagement and corruption is another reason for the increasing number of stray dogs. There have been reports that municipalities in many states outsource ABC programmes to NGOs or private contractors. However, there is little to no monitoring. Several cases have surfaced where NGOs claimed to sterilise thousands of dogs, but the actual numbers were a fraction.
In Bhopal, audits revealed inflated figures, ghost surgeries, and substandard facilities. Without proper oversight, public money meant for population control ends up being wasted, and the dogs continue to multiply every year.
Public safety at stake amid a rabies crisis
The unchecked population is no longer an urban problem. It has become a public safety emergency and a national shame. India has the largest number of rabies deaths annually in the world. Dog bites are now an everyday occurrence. Between 2019 and 2022, over 1.6 crore dog bite cases were officially recorded in India. That is an average of more than one bite every two seconds. These figures are likely underreported, as many rural cases never reach the dataset.
Some states are facing a particularly grim situation. For example, Kerala reported 3.16 lakh dog bite cases in 2024 alone. In Ludhiana, Punjab, government hospitals registered over 40 cases a day. Stray dogs attack people from all age groups. From children to elderly pedestrians, sanitation workers, and delivery agents, no one is safe on Indian roads, not even in gated societies, anymore. Stray dogs are increasingly territorial, aggressive, and often move in large packs. It makes attacks more frequent and dangerous.
Notably, India accounts for 36% of global rabies deaths. Around 18,000 to 20,000 people die of rabies every year, and most of these deaths are caused by dog bites. Rabies is 100% fatal once symptoms appear, making post-exposure treatment the only line of defence. Sadly, access to vaccines, especially in remote and rural regions, remains inconsistent. Furthermore, lack of awareness is another reason people fail to report or go to the doctor immediately once they are bitten by a stray dog. There is also a psychological toll. Fear of dog attacks keeps elderly people confined indoors. Children are restricted from going to parks or playing in front of their houses. Even youth, in some areas, have to walk with a stick in their hands. In short, the growing stray dog population has transformed the issue into a full-blown national crisis, and nobody is ready to talk about it, all thanks to the Animal Welfare Boards, animal lovers, and the judiciary.
The way forward – solutions and national-level reforms
Solving this crisis demands a coordinated, multi-agency effort without any interference from animal ‘activists’, the Animal Welfare Board, dog lovers or the judiciary. India needs a mission-mode campaign that must be backed by the central government, involving the ministries of health, animal husbandry, urban development and municipal bodies. The government and local authorities must scale up sterilisation infrastructure rapidly. Dedicated funds, real-time monitoring apps, mobile ABC vans and digital dog-tagging systems for stray dogs should be implemented.
The central health ministry has started coordinating with animal husbandry authorities under a “One Health” framework, recognising that human rabies control is impossible without controlling it in dogs. However, it will take time to get results as getting all stakeholders onboard is not an easy task.
There is also a need for waste management. Unattended garbage is a key contributor to the high stray population. Municipalities must ensure clean streets and prompt waste collection. Designated feeding zones, away from residential clusters should be set up, and ‘animal lovers’ must comply with this without making a fuss.
Furthermore, there is a need for strict laws against pet abandonment and illegal breeding. Many strays originate from dumped pets or their unneutered offspring. Making pet sterilisation compulsory and regulating breeding can cut down the influx of new strays.
Finally, public awareness must increase. Citizens need to be educated about rabies prevention, responsible feeding and how to engage with authorities to sterilise strays in their areas. Compassion and caution must go hand in hand if India wants to address this human-animal conflict in a strict yet humane manner.
It is time to act decisively
India has a major stray dog problem, and it is not just about animals on the street. It is about human lives, public health and safety. The numbers have reached a stage where authorities cannot ignore them. The tragedies are happening too frequently to brush aside. India needs not only better rules but stronger action, strict accountability and a public conversation. There should be a balance between animal welfare and people’s right to live without fear. If this crisis remains unaddressed, the headlines will continue to speak through bloodied playgrounds, grieving parents and a healthcare system battling avoidable rabies deaths. The time to act was a day before yesterday. The time to wake up is now.
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