Dog Menace in Delhi
A Geographical Review and Epidemiological Analysis of Rabies Burden and Judicial Responses
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55763/ippr.2026.07.01.003Abstract
Free-roaming dogs are a persistent issue in many Indian cities. In Delhi, rising dog-bite incidences and reported rabies cases have prompted intense public debate, policy action by municipal agencies, and a high-profile Supreme Court intervention in August 2025. This review examines the geography of the stray dog–human conflict in Delhi, focusing on dog-bite trends, rabies epidemiology, and governance responses, including the 2025 Supreme Court judgment on dog management. Using published epidemiological studies, municipal surveillance data, and Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme documents, the paper analyses temporal and seasonal dog-bite patterns and identifies neighbourhood-level risk concentrations driven by waste availability, urban density, and uneven ABC coverage. Comparative cases from Bengaluru, Kerala, and Mumbai show similar challenges of fragmented implementation, rapid dog population turnover, and persistent hotspots, while Kerala’s expanded anti-rabies initiatives demonstrate measurable reductions in human rabies but heightened community tensions. Findings highlight the need for spatially targeted interventions, improved waste management, and strengthened ward-level sterilisation and vaccination cycles. The study concludes that Delhi’s conflict is shaped by ecological and institutional factors, and that durable solutions require aligning public-health priorities with legal and animal-welfare frameworks.
Keywords:
stray dogs, rabies, dog-bite epidemiology, Animal Birth Control (ABC) rules, Sterilisation, vaccination, urban governance, public healthDownloads
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