Around the world, feral and free-ranging dogs are emerging as one of the most overlooked threats to both biodiversity and human health. Once seen merely as human companions or strays on the margins of society, these animals have now become ecological disruptors, capable of undermining wildlife conservation efforts and spreading diseases such as rabies and canine distemper. India’s recent policy debates on street dog management have reignited global attention to this growing challenge — one that extends far beyond city streets to the heart of rural and wildlife-rich landscapes.

A Global Problem with Local Consequences

Globally, dogs have driven at least 11 species to extinction and threaten 188 more, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). These include 96 mammals, 78 birds, 22 reptiles and three amphibians. The problem is particularly acute in developing countries, where poor waste management, limited veterinary care and weak animal control systems allow dog populations to expand unchecked.

In regions such as Latin America, Africa, South Asia and parts of Eastern Europe, free-ranging dogs hunt, harass or compete with native wildlife, often forming semi-feral packs that behave like wild predators. On Mexico’s Cedros Island, dog predation cut elephant seal populations by nearly 20%. In Israel, gazelle fawn survival fell to zero in areas exposed to dogs. Madagascar’s native predator, the fosa, declined by up to 40% in regions where dogs proliferated. Similar impacts have been recorded in Chile, where dogs prey on endangered huemul deer, and in Australia, where hybridisation between wild dogs and dingoes has destabilised ecosystems.

Beyond predation, disease transmission compounds the damage. Rabies and canine distemper, both spread by domestic dogs, have devastated populations of endangered carnivores such as the Ethiopian wolf, African wild dog and the Asiatic lion. In the Serengeti, a distemper outbreak linked to unvaccinated village dogs wiped out nearly one-third of the wild dog population in the 1990s.

India’s Expanding Challenge

India’s situation mirrors this global trend — but at a far larger scale. The country is estimated to host more than 60 million free-ranging dogs, one of the highest numbers in the world. Rabies, transmitted primarily through dog bites, kills an estimated 20,000 people annually in India — roughly a third of the global total. Yet, the impact on wildlife is less visible and far less discussed.

From the plains to the high Himalayas, dogs are now part of nearly every landscape. In Ladakh, they have chased, preyed on or displaced at least a dozen native species, including kiang, marmots, Pallas’s cats and Himalayan wolves. In Gujarat’s Gir National Park, canine distemper has infected and killed Asiatic lions. In Rajasthan, dogs have been known to reduce the nesting success of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard by 60–70% through egg predation. On India’s eastern coast, they raid Olive Ridley turtle nests and occasionally kill nesting adults.

The ecological consequences are severe. As opportunistic scavengers, dogs thrive around villages, tourist sites, garbage dumps and livestock carcasses — all of which act as steady food sources. The non-implementation of India’s Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules and the illegal off-loading of city dogs into rural areas have worsened the crisis, creating a constant “source-sink” dynamic: whenever dogs are culled or removed, new individuals quickly move in, sustaining the problem.

From Urban Policy to Rural Necessity

The India’s Supreme Court’s recent rulings on stray dogs have brought some clarity to the management approach. While earlier interpretations seemed to encourage mass removals, the Court has now stressed that only genuinely dangerous or rabid dogs should be isolated or euthanised. This shift underscores a crucial principle — that management should be scientific, humane and systematic, not reactionary.

However, implementation remains urban-centric. The ABC Rules of 2023, meant to guide sterilisation and vaccination, are largely confined to cities, while rural India — where 65% of the population and much of the nation’s wildlife live — is left unprotected. Non-urban areas need equal attention, not only to control rabies but also to safeguard biodiversity.

Experts suggest that each village or panchayat should constitute an ABC committee comprising the sarpanch, local health workers, veterinarians, forest guards, self-help groups and youth representatives. Mobile sterilisation and vaccination units can be deployed in partnership with veterinary colleges and NGOs. Funding could be pooled from district health, animal husbandry and forest budgets, including Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) allocations.

States should also declare 5–10 km “ABC Rings” around protected areas — zones of intensive dog sterilisation, vaccination and waste management. Evidence shows that rabies control requires at least 70% vaccination coverage to break the transmission cycle; below that threshold, outbreaks rebound quickly.

Lessons from Around the World

Several countries offer useful lessons in managing free-ranging dogs without cruelty or ecological harm. In Bhutan, a national sterilisation and vaccination drive launched in 2009, supported by Humane Society International, achieved over 70% coverage in urban areas, leading to a dramatic fall in rabies cases. Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park implemented strict waste control and vaccination programs to protect guanacos and foxes. In the Galápagos, authorities removed all dogs from sensitive islands and established strict import and quarantine rules for pet ownership.

Australia and Canada provide frameworks where dogs that repeatedly harm wildlife can be legally removed, while local communities receive training in responsible ownership and wildlife protection. These examples underscore that coexistence is possible when policy, education and enforcement work together.

Towards Coexistence and Shared Responsibility

Long-term coexistence between humans, dogs and wildlife hinges on community participation. Public education campaigns can help shift attitudes — from neglect or hostility toward informed stewardship. Lessons in dog behaviour, bite prevention and waste management can be introduced in schools and community programs. Where hunger drives dogs to hunt, supervised feeding points inside village cores — never near forest edges — can stabilise behaviour without subsidising population growth.

Equally important is reliable post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) — the rabies vaccine given to bite victims. Every primary health centre should be equipped to provide it free of cost, ensuring that human safety and animal welfare advance together.

Indicators of success can be simple yet powerful: rising sterilisation and vaccination rates, declining bite incidents, fewer pups and stable, healthy community dog populations.

A New Perspective

The feral dog problem is not merely an animal welfare issue; it is a public health and conservation emergency. It demands the same seriousness as other zoonotic threats and ecological crises. For India and much of the world, the answer does not lie in mass killing or neglect, but in disciplined, humane management rooted in science and community cooperation.

Protecting wildlife, safeguarding people and ensuring the welfare of dogs are not conflicting goals — they are parts of the same ecosystem of responsibility. Moving the ABC framework beyond cities to the villages and wildlife-rich regions where it is most urgently needed may be the most practical and compassionate path toward coexistence in the Anthropocene.