Mumbai Stray Dog Crisis: 90,600 Strays, Only 8 Shelters
Mumbai Stray Dog Crisis: 90,600 Strays, Only 8 Shelters
Mumbai faces a shelter shortage as the stray dog population tops 90,000, while a Supreme Court directive pushes relocation after sterilisation and vaccination.
Mumbai is grappling with a growing stray dog population, now estimated at 90,600, but the city runs just eight shelters to house them. This imbalance comes as the Supreme Court directed the relocation of stray canines to designated shelters after sterilisation and vaccination, amid concerns over rising bite incidents in institutional areas, railway stations, hospitals, and other crowded spaces.
Civic officials point to a 11-year-old census showing 95,752 stray dogs in Mumbai; the animal birth control program launched in 2014 has trimmed the numbers by about 5,000, but the current total remains high.
Eight shelters are insufficient. Previously, the old mandate allowed sterilised dogs to be released, but the court's order requires more shelters to be set up to handle relocation and ongoing management.
The ongoing policy push aims to curb bites and secure public spaces, but residents urge faster action and better shelter capacity, vaccination coverage, and adoption drives.
Experts say the solution lies in expanding shelters, scaling up sterilisation and vaccination, and improving infrastructure for animal welfare, as Mumbai grapples with the challenge of humane management of its large stray dog population.
Cover image source: Only eight shelters to accommodate over 90,000 stray dogs in Mumbai 🔗
