Unseen health hazards of urban stray animal romanticization in India

• Urban stray animal romanticization reshapes zoonotic risk in Indian cities. • Rabies control eroded by sentimentalization of unvaccinated stray dogs. • Pigeon feeding fuels airborne viral and respiratory health hazards. • Temple-associated macaque contact introduces underrecognized zoonotic risk. • Social media amplifies unsafe human–animal contact without safeguards. Widespread affection for urban stray animals in India, fueled by viral social media trends, is inadvertently escalating the risk of zoonotic viral transmission. Close, unregulated human contact with stray dogs, pigeons, cats, and urban macaques often lacking systematic health monitoring creates potent spillover pathways for rabies virus, pigeon paramyxovirus, feline coronaviruses, and Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1. Feeding hotspots and informal rescue efforts bypass public health safeguards and veterinary oversight, while algorithm-driven digital content normalizes high-risk behaviors without accountability. In densely populated cities lacking effective surveillance or enforcement of animal control laws, such interactions reshape urban epidemiology by promoting unmonitored viral corridors. Public sentiment, though rooted in empathy, increasingly impedes evidence-based policies and sterilization programs. The convergence of digital romanticization, administrative gaps, and cultural permissiveness fosters a climate in which emotional engagement overshadows viral threat recognition. A recalibration of this trend through integrated One Health interventions is urgently needed to prevent emotional goodwill from enabling viral harm.