Findings of civic body’s 2024 survey reveal that stray population has increased in only four wards in past 10 years; there were around 95,172 stray dogs or 10.54 canines per sq km in the city
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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) published the findings of its 2024 street dog survey on Thursday, according to which the number of strays has reduced in the past decade. Going by the civic body’s data, in 2014, there were around 95,172 stray dogs or 10.54 canines per sq km in the city. While, according to the latest survey, 90,757 dogs are roaming the streets of Mumbai. According to the survey, the number of street dogs has risen in only four wards. In E ward—which comprises Byculla, Mazagaon and part of Mumbai Central—924 strays were reported in 2014 while in the latest survey, 1130 such canines were reported. In F North ward—which covers Matunga, Wadala and Sion—918 dogs were reported in 2014 and the number is 1675 now. In P North ward— which comprises Malad—the number of stray dogs has increased from 4000 in 2014 to 5847 while in N ward—which covers Ghatkopar—the number has increased from 2980 to 3835. The overall stray dog-human ratio has seen a decline since 2014 from 7.66 canines per thousand humans to around four.
The findings
Under the 2024 exercise, carried out to evaluate the trends and the impact of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme, approximately 930 km of Mumbai’s streets were surveyed. In slums, BMC found there were 224 dogs per sq km. “Despite the growth in the human population, we have observed a reduction of 21.8 per cent and 27.4 per cent in dog density in streets and slums, respectively, across Mumbai over the past ten years,” said a BMC official.
While dog density decreased by 31.6 per cent across 19 wards, there were some exceptions. In four wards—E, N, R South (Kandivli) and T (Mulund), dog density increased by 19.9 per cent while in D ward, the density remained stable. The overall sterilisation rate was 62.9 per cent with females having a slightly lower rate of 61.7 per cent. The proportion of lactating females dropped to 7.1 per cent, yet the number of pups rose to 4.3 per cent. “Despite a general decrease, the increase in dog density in four words could be due to migration of canines from outside Mumbai. Human interactions such as feeding might influence these figures by boosting pup survival rates and impacting sterilisation effectiveness. Although we are assuming multiple influencing factors, further research is needed to substantiate or refute these hypotheses,” an official stated.
Sterilisation progress
In 2014, the sterilisation percentage was 72.8 per cent whereas in 2024, it was 62.9 per cent. Since 1997, dog-related complaints and bite incidents have generally declined, according to BMC data. The BMC started its sterilisation programme in 1994. By December 2023, the civic body had successfully sterilised 4,03,374 dogs. From 2014 to 2023, various organisations collectively achieved the sterilisation of 1,48,084 dogs, with the annual figures reaching a peak of 24,290 in 2017 and a low of 6414 in 2015, averaging 14,808 sterilisations per year over the decade. This recent effort, however, represents a decrease from the period between 2008 and 2013, during which a total of 1,22,120 dogs were sterilised. The earlier period saw a significantly higher annual average of 26,016 sterilisations per year, with the highest single-year total reaching 36,990 in 2009 and the lowest at 9722 in 2013. In 2022, 332 dog bites were recorded, while the following year, the figure was 414. Complaints about stray dogs doubled between 2022 and 2023 from 1000 to about 2023.
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