The rising dog menace
The scale of Kashmir’s dog bite crisis is no longer possible to dismiss. In just three years, more than 100,000 people in Jammu and Kashmir have been attacked by dogs. Last year alone saw over 51,000 reported cases, the highest on record, five of whom died of rabies. However, according to doctors, the real number could be even higher, as the dog bites in rural areas generally are not recorded. And many people also rely on quacks or faith healer instead of doctors.
The data makes it clear that what was once an occasional nuisance is now a public health emergency. Rabies is known to be one of the oldest known diseases, and yet, in Kashmir, it continues to afflict people and claims lives.
Rapid urbanisation and poor waste management have created fertile ground for stray dogs to thrive. Open garbage sites across Srinagar and other towns draw thousands of animals every day. Surveys suggest there may be one stray dog for every 13 residents in Srinagar, with around 350,000 pups born annually. Municipal sterilisation campaigns exist but are woefully inadequate. The city’s two sterilisation centres handle fewer than 70 procedures daily, far too few given the scale of the problem. Even with a new facility at Chatterhama, designed to sterilise 60 dogs a day, the numbers simply don’t add up.
This is not just about statistics; it is about people, more so, about children and elderly, who are especially vulnerable to dog attacks. Hence we urgently require a pro-active government to tackle the crisis. We already have the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme, which is meant to sterilise and vaccinate stray canines. But its erratic and often tardy implementation has made it ineffective in checking dog numbers.
What is thus needed is a comprehensive, long-term approach: better waste management, continuous sterilisation and vaccination drives, year-round functioning of animal birth control centres, and above all, the guaranteed availability of anti-rabies vaccines and immunoglobulins in both cities and villages. That said, public awareness campaigns must also play their part: the people need to be taught how to respond to dog encounters and why timely medical treatment is essential.
