NEW DELHI: India has witnessed around 22 lakh dog bite cases and over 5 lakh other animals including monkey bite cases in 2024 across the country. These bites led to the deaths of a total of 48 people. The massive biting cases show that India is far away from its target to achieve rabies free India by 2030.
According to the data given by the Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, between January 2024 to December 2024 rural areas across the country, have witnessed massive animal bite cases. There total number of animal bite cases registered across the country is 26,99,850 and out of it around 20% of victims are children.
Total animal bite cases of children reported to less than 15 years of age is 5,19,704 across the country, during the same period.
There were a total of 21,95,122 cases of dog bite cases and 5,04,728 cases of other animals including monkeys reported by States and Union Territories on the Integrated Health Information Platform portal under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
In its written reply in the Lok Sabha, the Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh told that the issue of stray animals falls under the purview of State Governments concerned and therefore, local bodies are mandated to handle these incidents.
“Multiple ministries of Govt of India are working together to contain the stray animal menace such as the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying(DAHD), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MHUA), and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MHFW),” said Singh.
Singh said his ministry DAHD has notified the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, to facilitate the management of the stray dog population.
He also said MHUA had issued an advisory on 25 July 2024 to all states to implement recommendations made by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to prevent stray dog attacks on children.
Finally, according to the 12th Five Year Plan for MHUA to make rabies free India by 2030. In this regard, the National Action Plan for Dog-Mediated Rabies Elimination by 2030 (NAPRE) was developed and launched on September 28, 2021. So far, the Govt has provided training to 1.19 lakh medical officers and paramedics in rabies prevention (from 2019-2023).