LUCKNOW, Aug. 19 -- From eight newborns for every 100 stray dogs in 2019 to under four now, Lucknow has nearly halved the birth rate of its street dogs. Officials attribute the change to the sterilisation programme launched by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) in partnership with an NGO in September 2019.

While the overall stray population has risen from about 75,000 in 2019 to nearly 1.20 lakh in 2025, authorities say this is mainly due to the expansion of civic limits to adjoining villages. The steady fall in newborns and lactating females, they add, shows the drive is working.

The LMC roped in a private agency to carry out sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination. Dr. Piyush Patel, who heads the street dog programme, said the ...