According to the information by National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, there were 1450666 dog bite cases in India last year. While the problem is global, Jammu and Kashmir is also among the places severely affected by the stray dog problem.
Over 60,000 dog bites cases have been registered alone at the Anti-Rabies Clinic of Shri Maharaja Hari Singh in a decade, according to the data revealed recently.
At least 4695 dog bite cases were reported last year in Kashmir Valley with Srinagar bearing the brunt with 3448 cases.
As per data by ARC at the SMHS Hospital from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022, Kashmir registered 4695 dog bite cases. Srinagar reported 289, 248, 284, 379, 329, 303, 240, 272, 289, 329, 259,227 cases in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December last year respectively.
The stray dog problem is only growing. It is important to note that the stray dog population control and management of such canines is the mandate of the local bodies. The Central Government has framed the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2023 which is to be implemented by the local authority to control the population of stray dogs. The main focus of the rules is on anti-rabies vaccination of stray dogs and neutering them as means of population stabilization.
Also, according to directions of the Supreme Court of India, all the State Governments are required to implement the ABC (Dogs) Rules, 2001 diligently to control the stray dog population. They are also under command to constitute the State Level Monitoring Committee and District Level Monitoring Committee to address the issues related to stray dogs in the respective local bodies.
Accordingly, the Animal Welfare Board of India has also forwarded a revised module to all the State Governments and UTs regarding the proper implementation of the Animal Birth Control programme. In addition, the Animal Welfare Board of India has issued advisories and guidelines for proper implementation of the Animal Birth Control Rules.
Hitherto, sterilization results have not matched the desired objective. In contrast, stray dogs have only grown in number. In such a scenario, there is a need to get serious on the issue and look for serious measures that can effectively address the problem.