Manifold increase in rabies deaths in two years: Centre

Though the number of presumptive cases of human rabies has come down from 4,885 in 2022 to 1,079 in 2024, the number of rabies deaths has increased manifold to 180 in 2024 from 22 in 2022, the Animal Husbandry Ministry informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday (August 5, 2025).

In 2024, the highest number of deaths was reported from Tamil Nadu (43), followed by Karnataka (42) and Andhra Pradesh (39). In 2023, 121 people died of rabies and 2,223 presumptive cases were reported.

In a written answer to a question by Member of Parliament from Kerala Adoor Prakash, Union Minister of State for Animal Husbandry S.P. Singh Baghel said that municipalities are mandated to control the stray dog population. “Municipalities are implementing the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme to stabilise the population of stray dogs,” he said, adding that the Animal Birth Control Rules, issued by the Centre, emphasise neutering and anti-rabies vaccination as primary tools for dog population management.

ABC programme implementation

“The Central Government and the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) have issued several advisories to ensure effective implementation of the ABC programme. Recently, on July 21, 2025, the Secretaries of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) issued a joint advisory to all Chief Secretaries, urging the implementation of the ABC programme and the development of requisite infrastructure,” he said.

The Minister added that financial assistance of up to ₹800 per dog and ₹600 per cat is provisioned for Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and local bodies for conducting ABC as per the 2023 Rules. “A one-time grant of ₹2 crore is provisioned for State-run veterinary hospitals for developing infrastructure, including surgical theatres, kennels, and recovery units,” he said.