Govt ups funding for stray dog sterilisation

New Delhi: The Centre has raised financial assistance for sterilising and vaccinating stray dogs and cats under the revised Animal Birth Control (ABC) scheme. Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying S P Singh Baghel told the Lok Sabha that SPCAs and local bodies following the 2023 ABC Rules will now receive up to Rs 800 per dog and Rs 600 per cat.

Implemented through the Animal Welfare Board of India from this financial year, the scheme earlier provided Rs 445 per dog. A one-time Rs 2 crore grant has also been introduced for state-run veterinary hospitals to improve infrastructure for ABC operations.

The initiative is part of wider rabies control efforts, supported under the Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme and the National Rabies Control Programme. Monitoring will be carried out through state and central committees, with states required to submit periodic progress reports.