1) Common logic suggests that uncontrolled street dog populations will continually increase, but reality shows the numbers level off at an area's "holding capacity". 2) Early attempts to control street dog populations through catch-and-kill programs failed to reduce rabies incidents or dog numbers in the long run. 3) The Blue Cross of India proposed in 1966 that humane animal birth control (ABC) could easily solve the street dog population issue, but widespread ABC programs did not begin for decades.

1. Humane
Population
Control
is as simple
as ABC
S. Chinny Krishna

3. How do we
respond to
the Street dog
issue?

4. Catch. Kill.
100
1860
16000 1964

6. WE
Influence Educate
Ignore
Holding
Capacity Register
Breeders
Kill Spay/Neuter

7. What happens if
we ignore?
Common logic implies that the number of animals will keep
increasing since dogs and cats are prolific breeders.

8. However, in reality
The numbers will level off
at the Holding Capacity of the area

9. What is
Holding Capacity?
number
It is the of animals that an area
can support depending on

10. What happens if
we kill?
Numbers
Remaining animals have increase again
Higher survival rate
An immediate drop in
the numbers
Numbers level off when
Holding capacity is reached

11. Why is ‘Catch-and-
Kill’ preferred?
It is believed that ‘Catch-and-Kill’ is
Cheaper than other methods

12. Catch. Kill. Repeat.
100
1860
16,000 1964
30,000 1996

13. Did killing help?
Incidents of Rabies didn’t decrease,
No. neither did the number of dogs on the
streets. In 1996, there were 120
deaths from Rabies in Chennai alone.

15. Our
Biggest
Problem
Signed: S. Chinny Krishna(Publisher)
Dated: 30-6-1966

16. “We can stop the cruelties of surplus animal
breeding at any time. Only the will is needed.
“
The Blue Cross of India
will be soon starting a
free spaying centre. All
we need is Rs. 25000.
You, if you will, can help
us solve this problem.

17. In 1966, after much
study,
Blue Cross of India
proposed that
street dog
population control
is as easy as…

18. Animal
Birth
Control

19. 1990

20. All too often, authorities
confronted with the
problems caused by these
dogs have turned to mass
Dr. K. Bogel destruction in the hope
Chief Veterinary, of finding a quick solution,
Public Health Unit , only to discover that the
WHO, Geneva,
Switzerland destruction had to
continue year after year
with no end in sight.

21. Insanity is doing the same thing
over and over again, expecting
different results

22. Animal
Birth
1996 Control
starts city wide
30 years after the Blue Cross
proposed ABC and 29 years
after opening our first ABC in several cities
centre..
in India

23. Seeing positive results
1997 General A.K. Chatterjee,
Chairman, Animal Welfare
Board Of India (AWBI) has
Animal Birth Control (ABC)
adopted as the policy of
the AWBI.

24. 2001
Reviewing the success of ABC in places where it had been
implemented as a pilot project, The Government of India
introduced new regulations which stopped killing of street animals
and replaced it with ABC

25. - Number of Rabies cases is
more or less constant over
2004
a 10 year period from 1992
to 2002 at 17371 cases per
year
The WHO sponsored study
of Rabies in India - Number of animal
from 1993 to 2002 bites(mostly dogs) is also
reveals.. constant over the same
period

26. Rabies cases in
However
humans as well as
the incidence of ..in areas
dog bites shows where
a dramatic drop.. ABC-AR
is being
implemented
aggressively

27. No. of Rabies Deaths: Jaipur(Walled city)
ABC-AR starts in March ’96
10 10
9
8
7
5
3
2
1
1992 1993 1994
1995 1996 1997
1998 1999 2000
2001 2002 2003
2004

28. No. of Rabies Deaths: Chennai
120
107 City-wide ABC-AR starts in
September ’96
44
35
24
17 16
5 5
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

29. No. of Rabies Deaths/Dog Bites: Kalimpong
10
230
ABC-AR starts
in 2000 D
R
O
A
G
B 5
I
B
E
I
S
T
E 26 25
0 0 0 S
2000 2001 2002 2000 2001
2003 2004 2002

30. The Blue Cross
Success Story

31. In Chennai,
zero
rabies cases
since Jan 2008.

32. In Jaipur,
the incidence of rabies
in ABC areas has been
zero since 2001
as against 8.75 deaths per
year during the five years
prior to 1996 when the full
fledged ABC programme
started.

33. In Kalimpong,
zero deaths
since 2002
as against 10 per
year previously.

34. In Bangalore,
both dog bites and rabies
cases have gone down
sharply
since October 2000 when the
programme began.

35. The Government of India
accepts the recommendation
2010 to propose two new rules
under the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Act of
After many years 1960: The Pet Shop
of persuasion..
Regulation Rules and
The Breeding and Sale of
Pets Rules

36. Thank
You