Odisha has reported as many as five lakh dog bite cases in the last 20 months, despite periodic sterilisation drives under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme aimed at putting brakes on rabies cases.

If the written statement submitted by Minister of Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Gokula Nanda Mallik in the Assembly is any indication, over 5 lakh people have been bitten by stray dogs in the past two years.

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Until October this year, over 2,43,565 people have fallen victim to dog bites. In the preceding year, more than 2.6 lakh cases were reported. The stray dog population is estimated at 17 lakh, the Minister said.

Only urban areas have been covered under the sterilisation exercise and over 4,605 stray dogs were sterilised in eight urban areas of the state, the Minister informed the House.

The population of stray dogs is rising, leading to an increase in dog bite and rabies cases. In this backdrop, it has been decided to vaccinate dogs across the state on a war footing. The Urban Development and Health Departments will undertake the exercise in a coordinated manner, the Minister said.

The Supreme Court of India earlier directed all states and local bodies across the country to take necessary steps to sterilise and vaccinate the entire population of stray dogs on the streets, a Health Department official said.

Sterilisation is the most viable option to bring down the dog population. Besides being an effective birth control measure, it considerably curbs the aggressive and violent behaviour instinct of dogs, the official added.

Every day, the state reports dogs going on biting sprees in various parts of the state, triggering a reign of terror. Dog sterilisation is carried out in adherence to the rules mandated under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, while stray dogs are caged and sterilised, the official concluded.