Maharashtra reported the maximum number of dog bite cases in 2023, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The data shared by the ministry shows that in 2023, the state reported 4,35,136 cases of dog bites, compared to 3,90,868 cases in 2022. There has been a spike of 11.32% in cases of dog bites this year.
The officials stated that there are several reasons for the surge in dog bite cases in the state, including the negligence of civic bodies towards taking charge of stray dogs. They claimed that because stray animals do not receive adequate food, shelter, or medical care, they become violent and contract numerous diseases. This year, there have been numerous horrific reports of dog bites in the state.
A seven-year-old child who was a Dahisar resident was recently bitten so severely that the stray dog's teeth went deep into his lower leg muscles. Dogs at Thakur village, Kandivali East, attacked another eighty-year-old child.
A top state health department official said that the majority of dog bite incidents go undetected. All around the state, there has been a surge in reports of stray dog attacks, especially in Mumbai, which records close to 60,000 occurrences annually. The victims of these attacks tend to be young women and late-night riders. The official cited a number of causes for the spike, including the scarcity of food and water for dogs, which leads to health problems for the stray animals.
The official says that as the stray dog population increases in huge numbers every year, dogs experience resource shortages, which makes them angry toward people and other animals. In addition to being rabid, injured, hungry, traumatized, or nervous, stray dogs can also become violent when they are defending their pups.Removing a dog from the streets or harming stray animals is prohibited by law. Legally, a stray animal has the "right" to remain on the street unless they are adopted by any NGO or people. In India, it was made illegal to kill dogs in 2001.
In 2008, the Bombay High Court's (HC) decision to permit local authorities to put down dogs that were "creating a nuisance" was overturned by the Supreme Court of India. According to Article 51A (G) of the Indian Constitution, "every Indian citizen has a fundamental duty to protect wildlife and have compassion for all living creatures."
Although the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sterilized over 90,000 stray dogs since 2018, local authorities believe that the current dog population has grown from 95,127 in 2014 to approximately 1.64 lakh in Mumbai. There hasn't been a dog census conducted yet.
Before COVID, the city would report about 85,000 dog bite cases annually. After COVID, this number dropped to about 60,000 instances annually, although no specific cause for the drop was given. According to the 2014 dog census, out of 95,174 stray dogs, 25,935 were found to be unsterilized.
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