Mumbai has been witnessing an average of 60,000 dog bite cases each year. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) sterilised around 90,000 stray dogs since 2018, but civic officials estimate that the number of dogs has increased from 95,127 in 2014 to around 1.64 lakh at present. The dog census hasn’t been carried out yet.

The city would report around 85,000 dog bite cases every year before COVID. While this number has reduced to around 60,000 cases per year after COVID, no particular reason was cited for the decline. As per the dog census carried out in 2014, there were 95,174 stray dogs and 25,935 were found to be unsterilised. Of these, 14,674 were male and 11,261 were female. “An unsterilised female dog can give birth to at least four puppies and they become fertile within a year. Thus the number of dogs has increased continuously. It is estimated that there are currently about 1.64 lakh dogs in the city,” said an official from the BMC.