Odisha Home To Over 17 Lakh Stray Dogs, Second Highest In India

Bhubaneswar: Odisha is home to more than 17 lakh street dogs, closely following Uttar Pradesh which has the highest number of such stray animals as per the Livestock Census conducted in 2019.

This information was given by Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Parshottam Rupala in a written reply to a question by Kottayam MP Thomas Chazhikadan in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The number of street dogs in Odisha increased to 17,34,339 in 2019 from 8,62,520 in 2012 as per the Livestock Census. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of 20,59,261 street dogs in the country, according to the Minister’s reply.

The data regarding the number of street dogs in the country is collected through Livestock Census which is conducted every five year. As per the Census, the number of street dogs has declined from 171.4 lakh in 2012 to 153.1 lakh in 20th Census undertaken in 2019, the Minister added.

According to the state-wise data, Maharashtra has third highest number 1276399 street dogs in the country followed by Rajasthan with 1275596 stray dogs and Karnataka (1141173).

West Bengal with 1140165 and Madhya Pradesh (1009076) have more than 10 lakh stray dog population.

The Minister stated that there is no provision for financial aid to compensate the victims suffering loss due to accident or killed because of street dogs.