If you can’t control your pets, don’t own one – is the message after back-to-back dog bite cases from Ghaziabad and Noida high-rises.
The Lucknow shocker, where a pitbull mauled to death its elderly owner, is still fresh in public memory. Amid this, comes two CCTV clips from two society lifts – one of a child being bitten by a Beagle as the indifferent owner walks away, and the other of a delivery man being attacked by a German Shepherd, but this time the owner dragging it out.
Repeated dog bite incidents have brought to the fore several questions. Are Indians equipped enough to own dogs without jeopardising others’ safety? Is pet ownership merely reduced to a style statement now? As if the menace of street dogs wasn’t enough, people now have to contend with their neighbors’ angry pets as well!
Data shows India recorded over 1.5 crore animal bite cases since 2019. The highest number of cases were recorded in Uttar Pradesh (27,52,218), followed by Tamil Nadu (20,70,921), Maharashtra (15,75,606) and West Bengal (12,09,232). On the other hand, Lakshadweep reported zero dog bite cases in the same period.
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The year 2019 saw a colossal 72,77,523 animal bite cases, which declined to 46,33,493 in 2020 and 17,01,133 a year later. However, the first seven months of 2022 alone recorded over 14.5 lakh instances. The highest number of cases this year were recorded in Tamil Nadu (251,510) and Maharashtra (231,531). India also reports over 100 rabies cases and deaths every year.
However, dog bite incidents involving strays have been much more than those involving pets. As per 2019 count, India has 1,53,09,355 stray dogs, down from 1,71,38,349 in 2012. The highest number of stray dogs are found in Uttar Pradesh (20,59,261), Odisha (17,34,399) and Maharashtra (12,76,399). Manipur, Lakshadweep, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli reported zero stray dogs.
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On the other hand, data firm ‘Statista’ estimates that the pet dog population in India) was around 2.14 crore in 2019, and is expected to reach 3.14 crore by 2023-end. “The growth in the number of pet dogs in India led to increasing in pet food sales from USD 139 million in 2014 to USD 285 million in 2018,” it says.
According to India International Pet Trade Fair (IIPTF), six lakh pets are adopted in the country every year.
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