Maharashtra reported over 4.88 lakh cases of dog bites in the first quarter of 2026, according to the state health department’s data. However, animal welfare activists have reiterated that the methodology to record dog bite cases is inaccurate, which projects figures to be multifold then the actual cases, creating panic among citizens.
Pune Leads With 54,662 Bites
Official public health data for the first quarter of 2026 reveals that Maharashtra registered over 4.88 lakh cases of dog bites, causing 19 deaths in three months between January and March. Pune leads with 54,662 cases and nine deaths, followed by Thane district with 47,940 dog bites and two deaths, and Mumbai with 37,242 cases causing one death.
Official records highlight that dog bite cases have significantly grown in the last three years, from 8.09 lakh in 2023 to 15.19 lakh in 2025. The number of deaths due to these dog bites have remained between 23 and 33. While the figures portray an alarming trend, animal welfare activists have raised serious concerns regarding the state's methodology of reporting dog bite cases.
Data Based on Vaccine Vials
Prominent activists have highlighted that the data does not represent individual dog bite incidents but is instead a tally of anti-rabies vaccine vials distributed or sold across municipal hospitals and local dispensaries. As the standard short course medication protocol in India typically requires a multi-dose vaccine regimen per patient, activists argue the state's methodology inflates actual conflict metrics, causing panic among citizens.
Animal rights advocate Meet Ashar, who is also a legal advisor to PETA India, highlighted that there is no bifurcation between bites caused by stray dogs and companion dogs even when private research surveys have highlighted that most cases of dog bites are from companion dogs, such as those who play rough. He also stated that preventive anti-rabies vaccines taken annually by field workers, who work with animals, are also counted in the number of bites.
Each Vaccine Shot Counted as Bite
“The methodology of recording bites needs to change as it is faulty due to various reasons. Every person bitten by a dog has to take five shots. Every shot administered is entered as a separate entry and thereby a separate bite. On the face of it, the data is five times inflated due to this recording error,” he said, adding that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation counts bites by all types of animals under the dog bite category.
In March 2024, the union government's Director General of Health Services (DGHS) wrote to the director of National Health Mission of all states and UTs, requesting that separate data be maintained and furnished for bites by companion and community dogs. The letter also requested that the counting of bites should be per victim and not per dose administered, advising separate registers be maintained for fresh and follow up doses to avoid multiple entries of the same animal bite.
DGHS Wanted Per-Victim Counting
Activists have highlighted that when the Supreme Court requested for a nationwide data of dog bites registered in each state, the union government provided data which was reported by counting the total number of anti-rabies vaccines sold in each state.
Mumbai-based animal welfare activist Xavier Santiago highlighted that although anti-rabies vaccine, being a Schedule H drug, are prescription-only medications, pharmacies usually sell them completely off-the-counter without a doctor’s prescription, violating the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules. “These doses are sold by private hospitals and local pharmacies without verifying the category of bite or without even considering if the vaccines were sold as pre-exposure prophylaxis,” he said.
Vaccines Sold Without Prescription
In January, Santiago purchased 10 doses of anti-rabies vaccines from multiple local medical stores and a private hospital's pharmacy in Thane. His sting operation revealed that the sale was later registered as 10 dog bites. He highlighted that during the recent Supreme Court hearings, the NRCP submitted cash memos of pharmaceutical memos of the number of vaccine doses sold.
The animal welfare community worries that faulty datasets will lead local municipal corporations to resort to illegal culling rather than structural solutions. They highlighted that the public health authorities need to implement a major overhaul of the data collection methodology, which can allow drawing of a roadmap for future course of action to decrease actual dog bites.
InDefence of Strays’ Roshan Pathak, who played a key role in securing the dog bite data from Maharashtra government, suggested that the funds provided to municipal bodies for vaccination and sterilisation of stray dogs should be provided to animal feeders to obtain a better outcome.
“Dog bite incidents are on the rise only on paper, that too because of the improper documentation work. Nutritious food, proper feeding areas, vaccination, and sterilisation are the only strategies to reduce aggressive behaviour among dogs. If the feeders, who are anyway looking after the food and well-being of the stray dogs, are funded by the government to perform vaccinations and sterilisations, we can see a significant decrease in dog bite instances within two years,” he added.
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