SC verdict on dogs aims to check stray menace
“Why don’t you feed them in your house?” The Supreme Court’s simple query to a Noida dog lover earlier this week has hit the nail on the head. “We should leave every lane, every road open for these large-hearted people? There is all space for these animals, no space for humans?” a Bench of Justice Vikram Nath wondered while hearing a petition alleging harassment over feeding stray dogs in Noida.
According to the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, the number of street dogs in India was 1.53 crore in 2019. A whopping 37,15,713 cases of dog bite were reported in India in 2024 with Maharashtra (4,85,345), Tamil Nadu (4,80,427), Gujarat (3,92,837), Karnataka (3,61,494) and Bihar (2,63,930) occupying the top five spots. As many as 54 deaths caused by rabies were reported from across India in 2024 – Maharashtra (14), Uttar Pradesh (6), Karnataka (5), Meghalaya (4) and Kerala (3) figuring at the top. In the first month of this year, 4,29,664 dog-bite cases have already been reported in the country.
Delhi recorded 17,874 dog-bites cases in 2023, which rose to 25,210 in 2024. This year in January alone, 3,196 dog-bite cases have been recorded in the national capital – an indication that by the end of the calendar year the total number might be much higher than the previous years.
The rise in the population of street dogs has led to a visible increase in dog-bite incidents and rabies deaths – raising serious concerns about safety of humans, particularly children – who are often at the receiving end of ferocious street dogs. Such a situation doesn’t augur well for the welfare of dogs – described as man’s best friend.
As per Article 246(3) of the Constitution, preservation, protection and improvement of livestock, as well as prevention of animal diseases, veterinary training and practice – all fall under the jurisdiction of state governments. Articles 243(W) and 246 cast an obligation on local bodies to control the stray dog population and accordingly, they are implementing the Animal Birth Control Programme to regulate stray dog population.
But the increasing stray dog attacks on children and the elderly people point to a failure of state government and local bodies in implementing the Animal Birth Control Rules – 2023, which provides for sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs to control their population in order to prevent rabies and reduce man-dog conflict.
This method is considered to be the only rational and scientific solution to the overpopulation of street dogs and controlling incidence of rabies. A study conducted in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike during 2019-23 revealed a 10 per cent reduction in the street dog population in 2023 compared to the previous survey.
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) under the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare aims to eliminate rabies in India by 2030 through the National Rabies Control Program (NRCP). However, unless each stakeholder – state agencies and local bodies included – plays its defined role, the deadline could prove to be a pipedream.
There are several petitions pending in various high courts and the Supreme Court on stray dog menace. But multiplicity of litigation would not help the cause. Instead, the top court should club all these petitions, hear them out and issue comprehensive time-bound guidelines for the agencies involved to get rid of the menace.
Delhi