Over 5,500 dog bite cases a day in 2022, though lower than pre-Covid count

According to WHO estimates, 36% of global deaths by rabies happen in India, at 18,000-20,000 a year. About 30-60 per cent of dog bite cases and deaths occur in children aged under 15

An average of 5,739 cases of dog bites were reported daily as of November 2022, shows data. This is a decline in the number of such instances since the pandemic.

The average rises if one includes pre-pandemic figures. India reported nearly 16 million cases of stray dog bites between 2019 and 2022 (Parliament data till November 2022), an average of over 10,000 cases daily.

The annual number of cases reported has fallen from 7.3 million in 2019 to about two million as of November 2022.

India has about 15.3 million stray dogs roaming its streets, according to the 2019 Livestock Census report. Cases of stray dogs attacking and mauling unsuspecting victims, particularly children, have been making the headlines since the beginning of this year—from Panipat to Hyderabad, and from Lucknow to Pune. After a spate of stray dog attacks in Kerala last year, the Supreme Court asked the state to tackle the menace and strike a balance between public safety and animal rights.

Attacks by stray dogs are a bigger problem in some states. Data shows that about 60 per cent of these attacks have taken place in the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal since 2019. Numbers have fallen since the pandemic. The latest 2022 rankings show some changes in the state-wise rankings. Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Karnataka are now among the top five, and account for most of the dog bites (chart 2).  

According to World Health Organization estimates, India accounts for 36 per cent of global deaths by rabies, at 18,000-20,000 a year. About 30-60 per cent of dog bite cases and deaths occur in children aged under 15.