What are the ABC Rules 2023?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
The Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 (G.S.R. 193(E), 10 March 2023) are central rules under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 for managing street dogs. The local authority must sterilise and vaccinate street dogs, release them "at the same place or locality from where they were captured", and RWAs must arrange feeding spots for community animals.
They replaced the ABC (Dogs) Rules of 2001. Pet dogs are a separate class: their owners are responsible for deworming, vaccination and sterilisation. Since 2025 the Supreme Court has added directions on top of the rules, such as moving dogs out of schools, hospitals and stations, so read the two together.
Where do the ABC Rules come from?
They are rules made by the Central Government under section 38 of the PCA Act, 1960.
The notification, G.S.R. 193(E) dated 10 March 2023, was issued by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, No. 154 of 16 March 2023. It was made under clause (ea) of section 38(1) and (2) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, "in supersession of the S.O. 1256(E), dated 24th December, 2001", the earlier ABC (Dogs) Rules. A draft had been published for comments on 31 July 2022.
Rule 22 decides what happens when a state law or municipal bye-law covers the same ground. A local provision that is "less irksome to the animal" than the Rules prevails; one that is "more irksome to the animal" has no effect. Rule 18 says any violation of the Rules is deemed an offence under the PCA Act.
What do the key terms in the ABC Rules mean?
- Pet animals (rule 7)
- "Dogs owned and kept indoor by individuals." Under rule 8 the owner is responsible for their deworming, immunisation and sterilisation. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
- Street dogs (rule 7)
- Street dogs, community owned Indian dogs, or abandoned pedigreed dogs that are homeless, "living on the street or within a gated campus". The local authority is responsible for them. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
- Community animals (rule 2)
- Any animal born in a community for which no ownership has been claimed by an individual or organisation, excluding wild animals. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
- Local authority
- A municipal committee or council, district administration, district panchayat, cantonment board or similar body that controls a local area. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
- Project recognition (rules 3 and 5)
- A certificate from the Animal Welfare Board of India, valid for three years, without which no ABC programme for street dogs may run. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
- Monitoring committees (rule 9)
- A central committee, a committee in every state and union territory, and a local committee at each local authority. The local committee meets at least once a month. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
What happens to a street dog under the ABC Rules?
The steps in rule 11, from capture to release.
Notice first
Before dogs are captured in a locality, banners or public notices must tell residents that dogs will be taken for sterilisation and immunisation and released in the same area. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
Humane capture
Net catching or hand catching. "Use of tongs or wires for catching dogs shall be strictly prohibited." Each squad member carries an identity card from the local authority. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
Who is not caught
Dogs under six months are not captured for sterilisation, and mothers with puppies are not captured until the litter is two months old. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
At the centre
A numbered collar matching the capture record, a vet check, and treatment first for sick or injured dogs. Surgery and vaccination are done by a vet, and a V-shaped notch on the right ear marks the dog as sterilised. Branding is not allowed. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
Recovery
At least four days in kennels after surgery, with food twice a day and drinking water at all times. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
Release
"The dogs shall be released at the same place or locality from where they were captured", with the date, time and place recorded. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
What do the ABC Rules say about feeding community dogs?
Rule 20 puts the duty on the Resident Welfare Association, Apartment Owner Association or local body's representative.
Do
- Designate feeding spots that are mutually agreed, far from children's play areas, entry and exit points and staircases. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
- Fix feeding times when children and senior citizens are least likely to be about. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
- Keep the feeding spot free of litter. Designated feeders may volunteer to help with vaccination, catching and release. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
- Keep a register of community animals: estimated numbers, sterilisation status, anti-rabies vaccination and who feeds them, as AWBI advised RWAs on 17 July 2025. Animal Welfare Board of India
Don’t
- Settle a feeding dispute by force. Rule 20(2) sets up an Animal Welfare Committee, with the Chief Veterinary Officer, police and others, whose decision on the feeding point is final, with an appeal to the State Board. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
- Treat feeding on the open street as allowed. The Supreme Court's order of 22 August 2025 bars feeding on the streets and asks for feeding spaces in every municipal ward. Supreme Court of India
What do the ABC Rules say about bites, rabid and sick dogs?
If A dog has bitten someone
Rule 16 lets the local authority set up an animal helpline. The complaint is recorded, and information on the bite is shared with the government hospital so post-bite treatment can be advised. The person bitten should see a doctor at once. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
If A dog is suspected to be rabid
It is captured humanely, observed at the ABC centre and inspected by a vet and an animal welfare representative. A dog with a high probability of rabies is isolated until it dies a natural death. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
If A dog is incurably ill or mortally wounded
Rule 15 allows humane euthanasia by a qualified vet, as diagnosed by a team of the jurisdictional veterinary officer, the project in-charge and a Board representative. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site)
How have the Supreme Court's orders changed things?
The Rules still apply. The court has added directions, and those directions bind too.
On 22 August 2025 the Supreme Court confirmed release to the same area after sterilisation, but said rabid dogs and those that display aggressive behaviour must not be released back onto the streets. Its 7 November 2025 order, as quoted in its judgment of 19 May 2026, adds that dogs found in educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and railway stations are moved to shelters after sterilisation and vaccination, and not released back there.
In that May 2026 judgment the court held that the PCA Act and the ABC Rules do not require the re-release of dogs within institutional premises, and that such dogs do not fall within rule 7(2) read with rule 11(19). It also directed at least one fully functional ABC centre in every district. The full timeline is on the Supreme Court orders page.
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Questions owners ask
Can stray dogs be relocated under the ABC Rules 2023?
- Not as a rule. Rule 11(19) says dogs are released at the same place or locality from where they were captured. The Supreme Court has added exceptions: rabid and aggressive dogs, and dogs removed from schools, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and railway stations, go to shelters instead.
Who is responsible for street dogs under the ABC Rules?
- The local authority. Rule 8 makes it responsible for deworming, immunising and sterilising street animals, either through its own vets or an animal welfare organisation recognised by AWBI. Every programme needs a Certificate of Project Recognition from the Board.
Does my housing society have to allow feeding of community dogs?
- Rule 20 makes the RWA or AOA responsible for arranging feeding of community animals in its premises, at mutually agreed spots away from play areas, entrances and staircases. Disputes go to an Animal Welfare Committee whose decision on the spot is final, with appeal to the State Board.
Do the ABC Rules 2023 apply to pet dogs?
- Only in one way: rule 8 makes the owner of a pet dog responsible for its deworming, immunisation and sterilisation. The capture and release rules apply to street dogs. Your city's pet licence rules and your society's bye-laws are separate.
What does the ear notch on a street dog mean?
- Under rule 11(16), a V-shaped notch is cut in the right ear during sterilisation surgery so the dog can be recognised on the street as sterilised and immunised. The Rules forbid branding dogs.
Do the ABC Rules cover cats?
- Yes, in rule 19. On the State Board's advice, a recognised animal welfare organisation trained in spaying and neutering cats may sterilise community or feral cats, with the local authority providing the infrastructure. Cats must not be housed with, or come into contact with, dogs.
Keep reading
- Feeding community dogs: the rulesFeeding spots, societies and the court's orders in detail.
- Dog bite rules in IndiaFirst steps after a bite and who is responsible.
- What did the Supreme Court say about stray dogs?The 2025 orders and the May 2026 judgment.
- Pets in housing societiesWhat a society can and cannot decide.
- Animal cruelty law in IndiaThe PCA Act and how to report cruelty.
Words on this page, explained
Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Gazette of India copy on AWBI's site): Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023: G.S.R. 193(E), 10 March 2023 (opens in a new tab)
- Animal Welfare Board of India: Implementation of ABC Rules, 2023: guidelines for local bodies, RWAs and AOAs (17 July 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- Supreme Court of India: Order of 22 August 2025 in Suo Motu W.P.(C) No. 5 of 2025, In Re: City Hounded by Strays, Kids Pay Price (opens in a new tab)
- Supreme Court of India: Judgment of 19 May 2026 in Suo Motu W.P.(C) No. 5 of 2025, 2026 INSC 506 (quotes the order of 7 November 2025) (opens in a new tab)