NEW DELHI: A proposed move to set up large-scale shelters for community dogs has prompted concern among public-health specialists, veterinarians, economists, legal experts and animal-behaviour scientists in the national capital. They argue that the plan may pose unintended public-health, ecological and financial risks.
Aditi Anand, Convenor of the Rabies Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, maintains that India already has an evidence-based framework for managing street-dog populations and rabies risk, namely the Animal Birth Control-Anti Rabies Vaccination (ABC-ARV) programme.
Anand stresses that the core issue is not the absence of policy tools but inconsistent and incomplete implementation. “The existing framework has never been applied at the scale or quality required for measurable impact. Before replacing it with an untested model, it is important to assess why the current one has not been adequately executed,” she said.
“Public health experts caution that large, high-density animal shelters may create conditions conducive to disease transmission if not managed under strict biosecurity protocols. Overcrowding, stress, and limited monitoring can increase susceptibility to infectious diseases, including rabies and other zoonoses,” she adds.
Dr Anindita Bhadra, Professor at IISER Kolkata, expresses, “Population stability is a key epidemiological principle. When vaccinated dogs are removed, the protective buffer they create is lost.”
Financial assessments cited by experts suggest that large-scale sheltering could require substantial land acquisition and long-term operational funding. By contrast, studies indicate that achieving 70% sterilisation and vaccination coverage through ABC-ARV, the internationally recommended benchmark- is significantly more cost-effective. Data from state submissions to the Supreme Court show that ABC coverage in many regions remains below 35%.