The sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs are not just animal welfare measures – they are the centrepiece of India’s legally mandated strategy to manage the street dog population and prevent rabies. The Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, require that community dogs be sterilised, vaccinated, and released back into their original territories. The law explicitly forbids the relocation of such dogs.
