Bhubaneswar: Date: November 14 Place: Balasore: An 80-YO elderly woman died due to stray dog bite.
Date: December 25, Place: Koraput: A 6-year old kid died following stray dog attack and bite.
The above two samples of dog bite deaths maps the growing menace of stray dog bites in Odisha across the length (from north (Balasore to south (Koraput). In the last days of 2024, the state saw loss of 2 lives in 2 successive months.
And the sample instances clearly show the brunt of dog bite deaths in Odisha has been borne by the child and elderly populace.
MENACE OF DOG BITES IN ODISHA
In DECEMBER 23: Orissa High Court has fixed the accountability when it directed the Puri Municipality to pay compensation of Rs 10 lakh to parents of a 4-year child, who died followings bites by a pack of dogs in Puri in year 2016.
Despite the above HC order outlining the gravity and nailing the accountability of the civic administration, the Numbers in 2024 tell how menacingly the stray dog bites have been growing in the State, notwithstanding the HC order.
It seems NO LESSONS LEARNT.
ABSOLUTE NUMBERS:
Recently, in Odisha State Assembly, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Gokulananda Mallik had tabled the following data in the State Assembly.
- Year 2023 Dog bites: 2,59,107
- Year 2024 (Jan – Oct): 2,43,565.
- The data shows by Oct this year, dog bites have almost attained the 2023 figure
- State govt has identified that maximum dog bites happen in the months of Jan, Feb and March.
As per earlier data, the dog bites in the earlier years were given below
- Year 2018: 166888
- Year 2019: 177530
- Year 2020: 158705
- Year 2021: 112354
The data comparison shows dog bites in the State have nearly doubled in the last three-year period.
INDIAN SCENARIO
As per data available with the Union government, the total number of dog bites in the country has come down by around 60%.
As per Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme data, the dog bites in year 2018 were over 75.66 lakh in 2018,
* and the same was down to 32.3 lakh in year 2021
* and 30.43 lakh in 2023.
A comparative look between State and National level data shows the menace in Odisha has multiplied exponentially.
WHY STRAY DOG BITES ON RISE In ODISHA?
As per 20th Livestock Census of India, in Odisha, the number of street dogs has increased from 8,62,520 in 2014 to 17,34,399 in 2019.
Many states like Tamil Nadu have shown a decline.
The data of 20th Livestock census has the following important facts in the yardstick of stray dogs per 1000 population
- Odisha tops country with 39.72
- Karnataka: 17.34
- Telangana: 16.67
- Rajasthan: 16.51
- Madhya Pradesh: 14.7
- Chhattisgarh: 13.74
- Gujarat: 13.71
- West Bengal: 11.77
- Jharkhand: 11.68
- Maharashtra: 10.45
The above data shows why the stray dogs are on prowl here, and the cases of dog bites growing menacingly in the State.
INDIA’S LAW ON STRAY DOG BITES
PROTECTION OF DOGS
In India, dogs are protected under the following laws.
- Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Act of 1960, under rule section 38 of the PCA act of 1960,
- Animal Birth Control(Dogs) rules,2001.
- Under Section 325 of BNS, whoever commits mischief by killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless any animal shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may
- extend to five years, or with fine,
- or with both.
As population of stray dogs can be controlled with interventions like sterilization, here are the facets of the law given below.
According to Animal Birth Control(Dogs) rules, 2001 Rule 3, Classification of dogs and their Sterilization provided below :
- All dogs shall be classified in one of the following two categories
- (a) pet dogs
- (b) street dogs.
- The owner of pet dogs shall be responsible for the controlled breeding, immunization, sterilization and licensing in accordance with these rules and the law for the time being in force within a specified local area.
- The street dogs shall be sterilized and immunized by participation of animal welfare organizations, private individuals and the local authority.
- The ABC Act 2001 in RULE 4 has specified formation of a committee
- Rule 5 elaborates the functions of the Committee, and it says,
- 1) the committee may issue instructions for catching, transportation, sheltering, sterilization, vaccination, treatment and release of sterilized vaccinated or treated dogs.
- 2) authorize veterinary doctors to decide on a case to case basis the need to put to sleep critically ill or fatally injured or rabid dogs in a painless method by using sodium pentathol. Any other method is strictly prohibited.
- 3) create public awareness, solicit cooperation and funding.
- 4)take such steps for monitoring the dog bite cases to ascertain the reasons of dog bite,
- 5)the area where it took place and whether it was from a stray or a pet dog.
- 6) Keep a watch on the national and international development in the field of research pertaining to street dogs' control and management, development of vaccines and cost effective methods of sterilization, vaccination, etc.
COURT RULINGS
In Prof Ajay Singh Rawat vs Union OfIndia & Others on 9 April, 2015, SC held that in the case of dog bite, victims of dog biting shall be paid compensation of
- Rs. two lacs,
- Rs. one lac by the Municipality and
- Rs. one lac by the State Government,
- within a week from the date of dog biting.
The Telangana High Court over the gruesome death of a five-year-old boy who was mauled to death by stray dogs in Hyderabad last yeart blamed "negligence" on part of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) for the boy's death.
ROAD AHEAD
Animal Birth control seems to be right measure to curb the growing population of the canine, but at the same building stray dog shelter home will only address the dog bite menace in the State.
To implement the policy of zero tolerance to stray dog bites, the aforementioned 2-pronged strategy seems the only solution, because birth control alone cannot guarantee zero stray dog bite, it will ensure only a fall in numbers.
