Financial Impact of Stray Animals in India: Estimating Damage Costs, Analysing Incident Trends, and Reviewing Government Budget Priorities

Stray-animal-related incidents have emerged as an important public concern in India because of their impact on public health, social safety, and administrative management. The present study examines the financial impact of stray animals in India by analysing reported incident trends and reviewing their broader policy significance. The study is based on quantitative secondary data collected from official factual sources and cleaned into an SPSS-readable format for analysis. The final dataset includes 220 observations across States and Union Territories for the period 2018 to 2023, with state, year, and incident_count as the main variables. The research applies descriptive statistics, percentage analysis, chi-square test, and regression analysis to understand the pattern and variation of stray-animal-related incidents in India. The findings reveal that stray-animal-related incidents are unevenly distributed across the country, with some states recording very low or zero incidents and others reporting very high counts. The descriptive analysis shows a high level of dispersion in incident_count, indicating that the burden is not uniform across regions. The percentage analysis confirms that the dataset is well distributed across states and years, making it suitable for comparative and trend-based analysis. The chi-square analysis suggests interstate variation in incident distribution, although the results must be interpreted cautiously due to limitations in expected cell frequencies. The regression analysis indicates that year has a statistically significant but weak negative effect on incident_count, suggesting a slight declining trend in reported incidents over time. The study concludes that stray-animal-related incidents in India represent a significant and unevenly distributed burden that requires stronger state-specific monitoring and policy response. It further highlights the need for improved incident reporting systems, better financial documentation, and more transparent budgetary records for stray-animal management. The findings suggest that stray-animal-related damages should not be treated only as an isolated local issue but as a broader governance and management concern requiring coordinated and evidence-based intervention.