In the wake of the Supreme Court order on stray dogs, data revealed that as many as 28,43,744 lakh people have been victims of dog bites between January and July this year in the country’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh.
The apex court on Friday stayed the earlier August 11 order on stray dogs, directing that while dogs would still be picked up, they would be released back upon sterilisation and immunisation. The top court clarified that the release directive is only for stray dogs that are not infected with rabies or exhibiting aggressive behaviour.
In the earlier August 11 order, the court had directed the relocation of stray dogs in the region within eight weeks, a move that had triggered protests, not just in the national capital, but in several other parts of India.
Of the total dog bite cases, stray dogs have made 2,250,218 people their victims, while 151,627 people have been bitten by pet dogs in Uttar Pradesh.
It was revealed that in UP, from January to July, 3,383,712 people have been victims of animal bites. These include cases of bites from dogs (street as well as pet ones), cats, monkeys, jackals, foxes, and horses.
According to Dr Pankaj Saxena of the state Directorate General of Health, 151,627 people have been bitten by cats. As many as 340,584 people have been bitten by monkeys, while 47,757 people have been affected by jackal, fox, and horse bites. Combining all these figures, a total of 3,383,712 people have been affected by bites.
According to Dr Saxena, only two people have been reported dead due to rabies between January and July. He said that the facility of giving rabies injections to the affected people is available in all the big hospitals, including Community Health Centres.
Dr RP Singh Suman, DG, Health, said that the facility for rabies injections is not available only in the women’s hospitals because people generally do not go there.