Growing canine menace

Dog population in the Valley has grown manifold in recent years. According to government figures over one lakh stray dogs roam the streets in Srinagar alone. The Anti-Rabies Clinic at SMHS hospital has received over 8,000 cases of dog bites from April 2023 to March 2024, with the majority of cases reported from Srinagar.  Over the past decade, 58,869 individuals have been victims of dog bites. Srinagar has been the most affected. Or it could also be so because the cases in Srinagar are reported more than in rural areas.  This should normally prompt the administration to take adequate measures to address the situation. But this hasn’t happened.  And it is time that this approach changes.

First of all, we need to understand what is contributing to the growing population of dogs in the Valley.  The city,  according to an estimate,  generates over 500 metric tons of garbage daily. Similarly, around 100,000 poultry birds are slaughtered, producing 40,000 kg of offal. The lack of segregation of waste at source and its scientific disposal further compounds the problem. The city’s  lone garbage dumping site at Achan is unable to cater to mounting waste load. As a result, the easily available food scattered across the city helps dogs thrive, enabling accelerated growth in their population. Srinagar and the other urban areas, therefore, need a more sophisticated waste disposal.

The removal of food waste can be part of a larger intervention strategy to curb the canine population. There is a pressing need for the swift sterilisation of stray dogs, particularly in areas with a high incidence of dog bites. Here the guidelines of the World Health Organization can serve as the benchmark: spaying and neutering stray dogs to reduce the street dog population, and rehabilitating stray dogs in dog sanctuaries and shelters. If the administration follows these measures consistently, it can certainly curb the canine population in the near to medium future which, in turn, will reduce dog bites. True, the authorities lack infrastructure and manpower for sterilisation efforts, but  it is imperative to address these logistical challenges promptly to control the runaway canine menace.