In Kerala, prudence begins the day. Kids no longer dawdle to play. Joggers in the morning take alternative routes.
Old residents stay indoors. It is not an imaginary fear. It is real, quick, and on the rise—stray dog attacks.
As per the Kerala Health Department, the state has already recorded an estimated 1.1 lakh cases of dog bites in 2025 alone with 16 rabies deaths. The trend has been increasing steadily since 2018, transforming what was initially perceived as a controllable civic matter into a public health emergency.
"If it were leopards, would you still wait?"
That is the query made by the Kerala High Court this month, as it took state authorities and local civic bodies to task for what it referred to as "unforgivable inaction."
At a hearing, the court asked why a clear and present danger to public safety had been permitted to get this far.
Each statistic conceals a tragedy: a schoolchild bitten to class, a woman assaulted in a crowded marketplace, entire neighborhoods too terrified to go out after nightfall.
Emergency rooms throughout Kerala are witnessing day-to-day surges of bite-related cases.
Law, compassion, and collapse
At the centre of the legal deadlock are India's Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, drafted in 2001 and revised in 2023. According to it, dogs are to be sterilized, vaccinated, and re-released back to the same neighborhood.
The ideal is based on compassion. The issue, critics argue, is with implementation. "Officials are using the law to justify doing nothing,” said the Kerala High Court, pointing to a complete breakdown in enforcement.
Sterilisation drives are sporadic. Tracking is poor. Funding is limited. And local municipalities often lack the manpower and systems needed for long-term implementation.
Delhi’s wake-up call
The crisis is far from being Kerala-specific. In Delhi, a six-year-old girl had succumbed to rabies at Pooth Kalan, after being bitten by a stray dog.
Her death led the Supreme Court of India to take suo motu cognisance of the increase in dog bite cases in the National Capital Region.
"Hundreds of dog bites are being reported every day," the SC pointed out. "Children and the elderly are becoming victims of the dreaded disease. Who is to be held accountable?"
The court has put the issue before the Chief Justice for immediate directions. The Centre, on its part, is yet to come up with a coordinated country-wide response.
A polarised debate, a common fear
The problem has polarised opinion. There are animal rights groups on the one hand cautioning against crackdown and unauthorised culling, while residents' groups and victim families on the other insist on swift and comprehensive action.
Protests have broken out in Kerala and Delhi, both from those calling for dog rights, and those demanding civic safety. Social media, too, has amplified disturbing CCTV footage of dog attacks in colonies, public parks, and school zones.
A crisis of governance
Experts argue the real issue isn’t the dogs, it’s the system. Kerala’s High Court has now ordered district-level reform panels, compensation mechanisms, and monthly progress tracking.
The road to come
The courts have intervened. The statistics are in policymakers' faces. But short of coordination now between local authorities, health departments, and legal offices, the crisis threatens to become business-as-usual.
