Mumbai, October 23, 2026: More than 5.29 lakh dog-bite cases were reported in Mumbai between 2021 and 2025, with the annual tally rising sharply in the last two years.
In 2025 alone, over 1.54 lakh citizens suffered dog bites, the highest number recorded during the five-year period, according to information obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by health activist Chetan Kothari.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in its RTI response, stated that no deaths due to dog bites or rabies following dog bites were reported in Mumbai during the period. However, the reply did not specify the exact period covered by the mortality data.
Dog-Bite Cases Rise Sharply
According to the RTI response, the city recorded 79,252 dog-bite cases in 2021, followed by 1,06,797 in 2022, 61,332 in 2023, 1,28,252 in 2024 and 1,54,017 in 2025. While cases declined in 2023, they rose sharply in the following two years, with the 2025 tally nearly double that of 2021.
Kothari says that the number raises questions about the effectiveness of ongoing measures to control the stray dog population and prevent attacks, despite the civic body's sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination programmes.
Sterilisation And Vaccination Drives
According to BMC, it has been implementing sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination drives to control the stray dog population and reduce the risk of rabies.
According to civic data reported in August 2026, the corporation sterilised 25,211 dogs between April 2024 and March 2025, followed by around 12,000 over the subsequent eight months.
The civic body has also reported vaccinating more than one lakh stray dogs and maintaining anti-rabies vaccine stocks for dog-bite victims. It is also planning shelters for aggressive and rabid dogs and has set a target of making Mumbai rabies-free by 2030.
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Additional Measures Under Consideration
The BMC has also been exploring additional measures, including expanding sterilisation efforts and ensuring round-the-clock availability of anti-rabies vaccines at civic hospitals. The effectiveness of these interventions will be crucial as reported dog-bite cases continue to remain high.
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