Whether or not India has a stray dog problem, it certainly has a dog-counting problem. Getting that right could be key to making any policy, whether it is confining dogs or vaccinating them, effective.
The most recent nationwide stray dog count is the Livestock Census of 2019. In fact, reports show that the Delhi-specific dog census was conducted even earlier, in 2016. So, in 2025, policies are being framed using estimates of the dog population based on an outdated censuses. More importantly, an analysis of the 2019 Census itself raises several questions.
Take the case of Tamil Nadu. In 2019, there were 4.4 lakh stray dogs in the State. In the same year, according to data from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Platform, Tamil Nadu recorded 8.3 lakh dog bites. The chart below shows the number of dog bites and stray dogs in each State in 2019.
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