Mumbai News: Mayor Ritu Tawde Flags Rising Stray Dog Population Despite BMC Survey Showing Decline

Mumbai, March 5: Despite a BMC survey claiming a decline in Mumbai’s stray dog population over the last decade, Mayor Ritu Tawde warned Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani that the numbers have surged in recent years, raising public safety and sanitation concerns.

She urged the administration to boost sterilisation and vaccination, expand shelters, and deploy dog-catching teams in all wards, emphasising a scientific and humane approach.

Survey findings and concerns

A 2024 survey conducted by the BMC in collaboration with Humane Society International/India (HSI) found that over the past 29 years, 4.3 lakh stray dogs have been sterilised in Mumbai, bringing the population down from 95,172 to 90,757 in the last decade.

However, Mayor Tawde warned in her letter that the stray dog population has surged in recent years, with dog bite incidents rising across multiple wards, posing serious challenges to public health, citizen safety and the effectiveness of civic management.

“While the BMC runs an animal birth control programme, current infrastructure and capacity are inadequate to curb Mumbai’s growing stray dog population. Sterilisation and vaccination are handled by eight NGOs, but a major expansion is needed across all 26 wards to effectively control the numbers,” said Tawde.

Proposal to expand infrastructure

She urged that the BMC should establish dedicated dog shelters equipped for post-surgery care, treatment and observation, with separate facilities for aggressive or biting dogs.

Dog-catching vehicles and trained personnel should be deployed across all 26 wards, handling sterilisation and promptly responding to citizen complaints.

The programme should roll out in phases—starting with seven zones with full infrastructure and manpower, then expanding citywide based on experience, and supported by a robust monitoring and evaluation system to ensure the ABC programme meets its annual targets.

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Dog bite statistics

Mumbai records an average of 70,000 dog bite cases every year. Between 1994 and December 2023, the BMC sterilised 4,03,374 dogs, including 1,48,084 between 2014 and 2023, with the highest annual sterilisations in 2017 (24,290) and the lowest in 2015 (6,414), averaging 14,808 per year.

The report also revealed that 76% of sterilised dogs survived, while 24% died over the 29-year period.

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