New Delhi: Dogs have long been considered to be man’s best friend but stray dogs are proving to be a handful in the country lately with the number of dog bite cases rising rapidly in the last few years. Despite widespread awareness campaigns, stricter laws, and community initiatives aimed at preventing dog bites, the numbers continue to rise alarmingly across India.
According to recent data from the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal husbandry and Dairying over 35 lakh dog bite cases were reported in the country in 2024 alone. This figure not only marks a significant jump from the 30 lakh cases in 2023 but highlights a worrying trend that prevention strategies are failing to curb the situation as the number in 2023 grew rapidly from the 2022 data as well.
Preventive Measures aren’t helping
The paradox lies in the simultaneous growth of both prevention programs and dog bite incidents. Guidelines from the Animal Welfare Board and various NGOs promote vaccination drives, responsible pet ownership, and sterilization of stray dogs. Yet, these initiatives struggle against the sheer scale of the problem, millions of stray dogs, underfunded municipal systems, and patchy enforcement of rules.
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The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has taken a few preventive measures to curb the spread of rabies across the country with one of them being the launch of NAPRE. Under the National Rabies Control Program, they have launched “National Action Plan for Dog-Mediated Rabies Elimination by 2030” in co-ordination with the Ministry of f Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying.
They have provided budgetary support to the states under National Rabies Control Program for capacity building of the healthcare staff, procurement of rabies vaccines, printing of IEC for rabies & dogbite prevention, for data entry support, review meetings, Monitoring and Surveillance, establishment of Model Anti Rabies Clinics & Wound Washing facilities. In addition to that, life saving drugs like Anti-Rabies Vaccine (ARV) and Anti-Rabies Serum (ARS)/Rabies Immunoglobulin (RIG) are being provided at government hospitals.
Worrying Trend Shows Massive Jump for 2025
The number of dog bite cases have been on the rise over these last few years. The number of cases in 2022 was just over 21 lakhs and that number jumped to 30 lakhs in 2023. Last year saw another significant jump in this number with over 37 lakh dog bite cases reported and it seems like we’re headed towards another jump in that number by the time this year comes to an end.
In just January 2025, the number of dog bite cases were reported to be almost 4.3 lakhs and the projection based on the data for January puts the number by this year’s end to over 50 lakhs. That is a worrying number given the efforts taken by the government to curb the problem. With each bite comes the threat of rabies, a disease still fatal without prompt treatment.
54 people passed away due to rabies last year, a significant jump from the 21 in 2022. While the government has launched initiatives like the National Rabies Control Programme and animal birth control projects, the rising numbers suggest that these need far greater funding, monitoring, and public cooperation.
