Mass Killing of Dogs Draws Flak, Activists Cite Success Stories of Goa, Mumbai

 Hyderabad: Against the backdrop of mass dog killings in Telangana, animal welfare advocates at the Hyderabad Literary Festival pointed to examples across India that show coexistence works when sterilisation and vaccination are sustained.

Goa now carries rabies-controlled status, Sikkim has not reported a human rabies death since 2006, and parts of Mumbai, Jaipur and Lucknow show steady declines in rabies and dog bites after years of animal birth control (ABC) work. These outcomes stand in sharp contrast to Telangana, where reports estimate nearly 900 dogs killed in recent weeks.

Speaking at a Climate Conversation, animal welfare advocate Abodh Aras condemned reactionary responses to public anxiety. “What we are seeing now are major reactions and they are horrible and cruel. They do not solve the issue. They take us backwards,” he said.

Aras argued that the killings reflect a longer pattern of attempts to erase dogs from urban spaces rather than control populations through law. He warned that such actions ignore basic ecology. “When dogs disappeared from certain areas, rodents surfaced and disease followed. When you disturb ecology in this way, consequences show up very fast,” he said.

Pressure to act has intensified since a Supreme Court direction in November 2025 asked civic bodies to clear stray dogs from hospitals, campuses, bus stands and railway stations. While the order did not permit killing, it has become the basis for sweeping actions. “Removal without shelters, without planning, will not work. Shelters do not exist at that scale,” Aras cautioned.

He noted that the legal position already sets out a different path. The animal birth control rules, first notified in 2001 and revised in 2023, mandate sterilisation, vaccination and return of community dogs to the same area, barring relocation except in limited medical situations. “The law is very clear. Animal birth control means sterilisation, vaccination, and return to the same area. You cannot relocate dogs,” he said.

Data from several states supports this route. Mumbai’s island city has sterilised nearly 74 per cent of its dog population. Goa’s rabies-controlled status followed years of vaccination. Jaipur, Lucknow and Vadodara show steady reductions in dog bites after targeted drives. “These are outcomes,” Aras said, countering claims that sterilisation does not work.

India’s National Action Plan for Rabies Elimination aims for zero human deaths by 2030, resting on vaccinating at least 70 per cent of the dog population. Aras also highlighted the social ties often overlooked: hawkers, sanitation workers, shoeshine men and residents of informal settlements care for community dogs as companions and guards. “Street dogs are often the pets of the underprivileged. Their coexistence with dogs is deeper than we acknowledge,” he said.

On feeding, he urged responsibility. “If you feed a dog, you take responsibility for that dog,” he said, stressing vaccination and sterilisation as part of care. “Feed responsibly and not unless it is necessary.”