New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) The government on Tuesday said that the total population of stray dog and stray cattle was 203.31 lakh as per the 2019 census.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala said: "National level of information regarding livestock population is collected every five years.

Also Read | Mumbai: FIR Registered Against BJP MLC Pravin Darekar for Bank Fraud.

"The last livestock census was conducted in 2019 and next census is due in 2024. As per 2019 census, total population of stray dog and stray cattle in the country was 203.31 lakh."

The management of public health, sanitation and cattle pounds comes under the purview of the State/UT Government and the local bodies need to evolve the mechanism to control stray animals in order to protect the citizens, he added.

Also Read | Oppo K10 India Launch Set for March 23, 2022.

The number of persons killed by animals stood at 1,130 in 2018, 1,425 in 2019 and 1,305 in 2020.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)