New Delhi: With disposable incomes on the rise in the country specially in urban India, Indians are actually going gooey over keeping dogs as pets. The pet dog industry is now being estimated to be at 31 million dogs being kept as pets. At present the India’s pet economy is estimated to be worth $890 million and will triple in the next decade.
But herein lies the catch. Even as dogs are being made out to be wonderful pets, many people are flagging the issue of stray dogs on Indian streets and how the incidents of stray dog bites which are even causing serious injuries and even deaths in cases are not being taken lying down.
Extent of the problem
There is no denying the fact that there is no government data of dog bite cases in the country. The Association for the Prevention and Control of Rabies in India estimates that there are approx. 1.74 dog bite cases annually in India. Given the fact that India’s population is around 140 crore, so it be easily made out that one bite per 100 persons. Expressed in other words around 1% of the population is bitten by stray dogs annually. The bite is of concern if the victim is bitten by a rabid dog as it can affect a person with rabies. It is noteworthy that India has the highest number of rabies deaths in the world, that is to say that out of the estimated 59,000 deaths in the world, 36% are from India. Worse still, between 30 and 60% are children below 15 years of age.
With India having 6.2 crore street dogs, it is indicative that the number is so high because dogs are scavengers and scavenge near garbage dumps and human settlements. India has both in large numbers, so dogs thrive in such areas specially urban slums. As implementation of animal birth control measures for dogs are not being carried out on a full scale, their population is rising.
Government aware of problem
Only recently, this issue was raised in Parliament. The government was asked if it had taken note of the large number of stray dogs in all parts of India and whether the government had any proposal to review the existing animal birth control rules including controlling number of rabies deaths. The minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala replied that given the present situation, only scientific method of sterilization by cultural intervention has been adopted to control the population of stray dogs. The minister said that sporadic reports of dog attacks had been seen and according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (National Center for Disease Control), the number of dog attacks was down compared to 2018. In 2018, 7567811 cases were reported. While until October 2023, the number of dog attacks was 2477936.
On rabies, he said the ministry of health and family welfare and ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying had jointly launched the National Action Plan for Elimination of Dog-borne Rabies in the year 2021. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was implementing the human health component of the National Rabies Control Program.
Leave a comment