THE Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has decided to conduct a comprehensive survey of stray dogs even as the data it maintains shows a drop in sterilisation, rise in takers of the rabies vaccine and more cases of dog bites being reported from outside the city limits.
The development comes at a time when the Supreme Court is hearing a case concerning stray dogs.
The last random census of stray dogs in Ahmedabad was done in 2019, when around 2.1 lakh stray dogs were recorded in the city limits.
According to an AMC estimate, the city currently has around 1.5 lakh stray dogs.
The AMC has started using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips in stray dogs since January 2025, for which an application has also been developed to record data. The AMC data reveals that RFID chips have been implanted in 6007 stray dogs.
The new survey, ‘free roaming street dog survey’, will be conducted by an agency to be hired by the Cattle Nuisance Control Department (CNCD) of the AMC in all 48 wards within the municipal corporation area limits.
“With the Supreme Court’s guideline to relocate stray dogs from public spaces such as education institutes and hospitals to shelters after vaccination and sterlisation, we need to create an infrastructure. First we need to have estimates of the stray dog population in each ward, to set up the required infrastructure,” Head of Department (HoD) of AMC’s CNCD Naresh Rajput told The Indian Express.
The AMC has invited tenders for choosing an agency to conduct the survey for which the last date is February 13.
“We have already contacted the major not-for-profit organisations working for animal welfare projects and also declared the terms — like no security deposit and payments in installments against a lump sum payment after completion of the project — that should be helpful for such organisations,” an AMC official said.
The data collected in 2019 was followed by a mass sterlisation programme under which around 1.94 lakh dogs have been neutered.
“With the population being controlled with the sterilisation of 1.94 stray dogs, the number of the process has been reduced to 30-35 dogs per day against 150-170 dogs a day earlier. The focus now is on the vulnerable areas like villages along the Sardar Patel Ring Road (SPRR) which have been included in the AMC limits of late,” Naresh Rajput stated.
“The challenge for the survey agency is to identify those stray dogs that have been sterlised before 2025 and implanted with RFID chips,” the official added.
Who requires the ati-rabies vaccine?
MoHUA panel calls for ‘urgent attention’
The High-Level Committee (HLC) on Urban Planning, constituted by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), in one of its reports, has said that the stray dog issue demands urgent attention for the well-being of both people and animals.
“The rise in dog bite cases from 21.8 lakh in 2022 to 27.5 lakh in 2023 highlights the severity of the problem, despite efforts to neuter dogs, the issue persists as neutered dogs still occupy the streets,” the report said.
Attributing the issue majorly to feeding of stray dogs, the report states, “A small percentage of street dogs are fed by NGOs while most rely on solid waste and face starvation. To address this, cities must improve solid waste management to eliminate food sources for stray dogs. Implementing a zero waste programme could significantly reduce the stray dog population. Additionally, incentivising, dog adoption and expanding veterinary infrastructure can help manage the situation in cases of severe illness or aggression. Removing such dogs from public spaces is necessary to ensure the safety of citizens,” the report states.
Calling walkers in cities “most vulnerable”, especially in Delhi and Ahmedabad, the report states, “With 42 per cent of the population relying on walking, the presence of 6.2 crore stray dogs, many of which are unhealthy and aggressive, makes streets unsafe, particularly for the elderly women and children. India has the highest number of stray dogs and rabies deaths globally, with cities like Delhi and Ahmedabad housing hundreds of thousands of these dogs.”
Rabies vaccine number rises
Though the AMC is citing the Supreme Court guidelines for the stray dog survey, authorities are not ruling out the increase in dog bite cases in the city.
“From around 5,000-5,500 vaccines given in a month for dog bite cases at the 35 AMC health facility centres in Ahmedabad three years ago, the number has increased to 7,000-7,500. This spike can be attributed to both increase in dog bites as well as awareness among people. Also, nearly 20-25 per cent of these dog bite cases have been reported from areas outside AMC limits,” Naresh Rajput from CNCD told this paper.
Rajput said that no rabies death cases were reported in Ahmedabad in 2025.
“The latest case of rabies death was reported in 2024, when a man in Ranip infected the virus from a wedding in Madhya Pradesh. He did not take the vaccine after the dog bite,” he said.
With the spike in dog bite cases, sources said that though there is no shortage in Rabies vaccine, there is shortage of Rabies immunoglobulin which is recommended to be taken for the category III-single or multiple transdermal bites or scratches, contamination of mucous membrane with saliva from licks and licks on broken skin.
Scope of survey
Ward wise and total number of ‘Free Roaming Street Dogs’ in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation jurisdiction area (480.88 Sq.km)
-Ward wise and total number of sterilized male, non- sterilized male, sterilized female, non- sterilized female, pregnant female, lactating female and sick etc of ‘Free Roaming Dogs in AMC’ areas.
-Ward wise and total number of ‘Free Roaming Street Dogs’ having low body condition scores, which are unfit for sterilization (skin infection, weak and debilitated, major injuries) in AMC areas.
-Ward wise and total percentage of above indicators of free roaming, dogs in AMC areas
-Ward wise and total dog-human ratio and dog density details of stray dogs in AMC areas
The last random census of stray dogs in Ahmedabad was done in 2019, when around 2.1 lakh stray dogs were recorded in the city limits. (File Photo) 
Who requires the ati-rabies vaccine?
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