SRINAGAR: Srinagar has an estimated 64,416 stray dogs, while Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has sterilised more than 50,000 dogs since 2014, with the Jammu and Kashmir Government acknowledging that the existing infrastructure and operational capacity for managing the stray dog population require further augmentation and strengthening.
The figures were disclosed by the Housing and Urban Development Department in a written reply to a starred question by Zadibal MLA Tanvir Sadiq, who sought details of the stray dog population, dog-bite incidents, sterilisation and vaccination programmes, and measures being taken to address the growing menace in Srinagar and other urban areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
The government said the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) conducted a scientific stray dog population survey in 2023 through an Animal Welfare Board of India-recognised animal welfare organisation. Using the Capture-Recapture Technique and the Lincoln-Petersen Formula, the survey estimated the stray dog population within SMC limits at approximately 64,416.
Between June 2023 and September 2025, the corporation sterilised 15,266 stray dogs and immunised 15,725 against rabies at its designated Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres at Tengpora and Shuhama.
However, ward-wise data on dog population, sterilisation, vaccination and dog-bite cases is not presently available in a uniform and consolidated format with the concerned departments and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the government said.
Dog-bite cases across the Union Territory are being recorded and monitored through the State Surveillance Officer under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir.
The government said SMC currently has two designated ABC centres at Tengpora Bypass and Shuhama, SKUAST-Kashmir, with a combined kennel capacity of 121. Of these, the Tengpora centre is operational.
An additional ABC centre at Ahal Chatterhama, with a proposed kennel capacity of 60, is under construction. Once completed, the three centres will have an aggregate capacity of 181 kennels.
The government said the existing arrangements are being implemented through the ABC and Anti-Rabies Vaccination (ARV) programmes, supported by veterinary manpower, humane dog-catching, holding and post-operative care facilities, public awareness and other measures.
It nevertheless acknowledged that the infrastructure and operational capacity remain inadequate to ensure effective and sustained coverage, given the scale and geographical spread of the stray dog population in urban areas of the Union Territory.
In Jammu, JMC is implementing the ABC/ARV programme through its centre at Roop Nagar, along with additional centres at Bhagwati Nagar and SPCA Chowadhi. The corporation is also conducting anti-rabies vaccination camps within and outside its jurisdiction.
The government said efforts are underway to create or augment ABC infrastructure in other Urban Local Bodies of Kashmir.
An ABC centre at Municipal Council Sumbal is under construction, with approximately 70 per cent of its prefabricated building completed.
The District Administration, Pulwama, has transferred five kanals of land to Municipal Council Awantipora for establishing an ABC centre. Identification of suitable land and preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for centres in other ULBs are also being pursued.
The government said the proposed interventions include expansion of ABC centres, strengthening of veterinary manpower and dog-catching facilities, and augmentation of holding, isolation and post-operative care facilities.
Measures are also being pursued to expand sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination coverage, scientifically identify sterilised and vaccinated dogs, maintain records, regulate designated feeding points, improve solid-waste management and intensify public awareness.
The government said Veterinary Surgeons and Doctors from the Animal/Sheep Husbandry Department have been adjusted or deployed to Municipal Corporations and ULBs under Government Order No. 272-JK(APD) of 2026, dated June 12, 2026, read with Government Order No. 127-JK(HUD) of 2026, dated June 29, 2026, to augment veterinary support for the ABC/ARV programme.
Under Government Order No. 186-JK(HUD) of 2026, dated September 3, 2026, Veterinary Doctors were directed to perform ABC surgeries at the Veterinary Hospital, BSF Frontier Headquarters, Humhama, with effect from September 4, under the guidance of veterinary doctors of the BSF hospital.
On dog-bite response, the government said the Health and Medical Education Department will continue to ensure timely treatment and provision of anti-rabies prophylaxis to dog-bite victims at designated health institutions under the National Rabies Control Programme.
The government said the immediate and time-bound interventions would focus on expanding ABC/ARV coverage, strengthening infrastructure and veterinary support, improving dog identification and record-keeping, and enhancing public-health response and inter-departmental coordination.
