Stray Dogs vs. Supreme Court: Animal Welfare Board of India releases SOP for stray dog management

On 27 November, 2025, the Animal Welfare Board of India released a circular detailing the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for a national framework for prevention of dog-bite incidents and management of stray dogs in both public and private institutional areas. This was in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directives and addressed to the Chief Secretaries of all the States and Union Territories of India.

This document talked about various aspects of stray dog management, including the process of removal of dogs from institutional spaces, neutering and vaccinations, guidelines for shelters and feeding, partnerships between stakeholders, awareness programmes, etc. The SOP called for uniform compliance and prompt execution. The processes would be overseen by the District Magistrate, and the status of implementation would be reported to the AWBI by State government departments.

Why did the Animal Welfare Board of India publish an SOP for stray dog management?

The Supreme Court of India took suo moto cognisance of a news report in The Times of India detailing the rabies-related death of Chavi Sharma, a child from Delhi’s Pooth Kalan, on 28 July, 2025. Ever since, there have been a number of hearings.

First, orders were issued on 11 August to round up all strays from the Delhi-NCR region and put them in shelters permanently. Thereafter, those directives were put in abeyance on 22 August, and authorities were asked to catch stray dogs, neuter and vaccinate them, and release them back to their localities, as per the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023. On 7 November, the top court directed pan-India civic bodies to round up stray dogs dwelling inside public institutions (schools, colleges, hospitals, railway stations, bus stations, sports complexes, etc.) and put them permanently in shelters.

It is on this 7 November hearing that the AWBI was asked to submit SOPs on stray dog management and prevention of dog-bite incidents inside institutional areas within 4 weeks. On 27 November, the AWBI published the SOP circular.

What are the details of the SOP of the Animal Welfare Board of India?

The SOP on a uniform national framework for prevention of dog-bite incidents and management of stray dogs in both public and private institutions details the guidelines according to which the civic authorities of States and Union Territories will have to work in order to rid institution spaces of community dogs:

Identification of existing shelters and land for new shelters:

• The State and UT authorities must identify the existing shelters that come under their respective jurisdiction.

• They should also scout for land where new shelters may be established.

Shelter management guidelines:

• In the new shelters, a particular amount of area will be given to a particular number of dogs, including space for kennels and small facilities. This amounts to about 20 sq. ft. of space per dog:
  
  100 dogs: 70 ft x 40 ft
  500 dogs: 157 ft x 90 ft
  1000 dogs: 221 ft × 127 ft

• The fencing around the shelters must be at least six feet high.

• There must be a veterinary care unit inside the shelter if no veterinary hospital is available nearby. Management can call the toll number 1962 for mobile veterinary services.

• The handling of dogs must be humane and follow the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, and the Revised Animal Birth Control Module, 2025

• Dogs must have an open area with demarcation so packs can stay together. A night shelter may be constructed.

• Each shelter must have a 24-hour watchman, cleaner, caretaker, and record keeper. The numbers will depend on the size of the shelter.

• The number of dogs will be quite large, so funds must be arranged by the Municipal Corporations, State Governments and Union Territories for daily feeding and running of the shelter. Every State’s Animal Welfare Board may volunteer to help determine the feeding cost. The cost prescribed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules, 2017, may be consulted to fix the cost of feeding.

Dog feeding guidelines:

• The shelters must maintain a proper feeding schedule, depending on the age and needs of the dogs:

• The amount of food each dog will get every day will depend on their weight:

Guidance for maintenance of hygiene in shelters:

• A consistent feeding place and time must be chosen and bowls of food and water must be cleaned regularly.

• Water must be available 24X7.

• No free feeding; food must be given according to the dog's weight to avoid wastage. Leftovers should be removed after 20-25 minutes.

• When changing diet, new food must be transitioned slowly over 5-7 days.

Waste management directives:

• Food vendors and operators in and around 100 metres of institutional areas must keep closed waste disposal pits or bins. They should not let anyone feed dogs near the stall.

• The area around the vending stalls/shops must be cleaned every day by the local civic bodies. A waste-management helpline is to be established.

• The citizens should be made aware that dogs must only be fed at designated spots and of these waste management initiatives. Responsible waste disposal campaigns should be done for the public.

Execution of stray dog removal:

• Local authorities should identify all government and private educational institutions, hospitals, public sports complexes or stadia, bus stands/depots, railway stations, religious places, children's parks, airports, helipads, seaports, tourist sites, and recreational spots that exist within their jurisdiction. Then, they must round up the stray dogs within and send them to designated animal shelters.

• To ensure that strays don’t re-enter, authorities must construct fencing, boundary walls, gates or any other infrastructure required. Fencing/boundaries must be at least 6 ft tall. The entry and exit points must be secured.

• A Nodal Officer must be appointed to ensure no stray dog enters the institutions. They must also manage waste management.

• The stray dogs that are taken away from the institutions must be neutered, vaccinated and kept in shelters maintained by the local civic authorities, in coordination with local animal welfare organisations, gaushalas, pinjrapoles, or volunteers.

• The methods used for catching and sterilising strays must follow the directives of the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, and the Revised Animal Birth Control Module, 2025.

Roles of various NGOs and animal welfare groups:

• Animal welfare organisations and NGOs can volunteer to support the construction and maintenance of animal shelters and community kennels.

• Local bodies must facilitate the. The money for the creation of community kennels may be jointly mobilised from stakeholders that are willing to support the initiative, including NGOs, institutions, etc., and local bodies.

Neutering and vaccination:

• All local civic bodies must neuter and vaccinate the displaced dogs before putting them in shelters. If a sterilisation centre is not available, they may take help from the Animal Husbandry Department or civil societies, organisations, and trusts who work in this field.

• Male dogs from big packs of dogs must be sterilised as a priority. Puppies should be sterilised after 6 months of age.

• After sterilisation & recovery, the stray dogs must be given anti-rabies vaccines. This vaccine must be given for at least 5 years, or till a protective titre is reached.

• Neutered and vaccinated dogs then can be sent to shelters under civic bodies or made by private trusts, societies, organisations, gaushalas, pinjrapoles and other facilities that can keep dogs for the rest of their lives.

• Institutions that have more than 2 acres of land and free space of at least 6000 sq. ft. may make a shelter within their premises at their own cost. These shelters must also follow all guidelines of the AWBI.

Awareness campaigns:

Awareness campaigns must be launched for waste management, responsible feeding, adoption of stray dogs, and prevention of dog bites.

• Waste management: Video clips displaying proper ways of waste management must be shown at multiplexes, shopping complexes and other recreational areas.

• Responsible feeding: To raise awareness, videos about responsible feeding must also be shown at recreational centres.

• Adoption of stray dogs: Citizens should be encouraged and guided to adopt stray dogs.

• Prevention of dog bites: The Nodal Officer of each institution must create awareness among the children and adults about how to prevent dog bites, using a poster or standee. These should talk about reading dogs’ body language, avoiding approaching unfamiliar dogs, not disturbing sleeping, eating or playing dogs, teaching children safe behaviour around dogs, staying calm near dogs, protecting oneself if attacked by dogs, leash training for pets, good environment for dogs, and vaccination.

What are the concerns regarding the directives in the Animal Welfare Board of India?

While theoretically the AWBI seems to have given detailed instructions on how to go about preventing dog bites and managing stray dogs, there are some major concerns that have come up among animal lovers, animal welfare organisations, and activists:

• AWBI stance: To begin with, many have decried the AWBI’s lack of support towards the catch-neuter-vaccinate-release protocol of the ABC Rules, 2023. The fact that, instead of taking an institutional stance on the permanent sheltering system as is expected of a board on animal welfare, the AWBI released the SOP was widely condemned.

• List of areas for stray dog pickup: The AWBI also lists out extra spots from where dogs could be picked up, such as religious places, children's parks, airports, helipads, seaports, tourist sites and recreational spots. These were not explicitly mentioned in the Supreme Court order, unlike educational institutions, hospitals, public sports complexes or stadia, bus stands/depots, and railway stations, which were clearly pointed out.

• Shelter dimensions: The shelter size measurements were also criticised by many. According to the guidelines, the space allotment is about 20 sq. ft. per dog to live out the rest of their life in. Multiple packs and dogs with different abilities will be housed together, which may cause behavioural deterioration, psychological distress, and physical health issues. Spreading of diseases is also a concern.

• Funds: While all the methodologies have been listed, it is unclear how funds for the construction and maintenance of these shelters will come from. The AWBI seems to have given local governments the rules and washed its hands of the subject of resources. Vague suggestions like mobilisation of funds from “interested institutions, NGOs and other stakeholders”, arrangement of funds by “the Concerned Government”, etc. have been mentioned in the SOP.

In essence, not only did the AWBI not protest against the permanent sheltering procedure, but it also released an SOP based on theoretical calculations that are nearly impossible to implement. Because of the immense pressure on governments, they may even start implementing it prematurely. Many fear this will lead to mismanagement of shelters, displacement of community dogs, mass deaths, and massive confusion, not to mention huge psychological distress for voiceless stray dogs. If States and UTs have to follow this SOP, the future will be very bleak.

Resources:

https://awbi.gov.in/uploads/regulations/176431409245SOP-11282025001522.pdf

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/protest-rally-pune-animal-welfare-boards-sop-management-stray-dogs-10408638/

https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/awbis-new-stray-dog-sops-trigger-nationwide-outcry-activists-call-guidelines-unscientific-and-cruel

https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/social-tattle/articleshow/125727420.cms

Image attribution:

By Subhashish Panigrahi - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84854220