East Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya has launched a new action plan aimed at eliminating human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030, combining tighter pet-owner rules with vaccination, sterilisation, better bite surveillance and more structured management of community dogs.
The initiative was formally launched on September 1, 2026, as a pilot project in the Laban area of Shillong, with plans to expand to other parts of the city and later to rural areas of the district.
The programme is aligned with India’s National Action Plan for Dog-Mediated Rabies Elimination by 2030 (NAPRE) and follows a One Health approach involving the district administration, Health Department, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, police, Shillong Municipal Board, Dorbar Shnongs and community groups.
What makes the new strategy notable is that it does not treat rabies as only a stray-dog problem.
District data shows that pet dogs account for the majority of recorded bite cases.
Pet dogs account for most reported bites
East Khasi Hills recorded 10,460 dog-bite cases in 2025, up from 7,489 in 2024 and 5,056 in 2023, according to figures reported during the launch of the district programme.
Pet dogs were linked to around 80% of recorded bites in 2025, compared with 67% in 2024.
Officials have also warned that the actual burden may be higher because some bite incidents are never reported.
The consistently reported 2025 figures alone are enough to shift the policy focus toward owner responsibility as well as community-dog management.
Registration and vaccination become central to pet ownership
Under the new framework, pet owners are expected to register dogs with their respective Dorbar Shnong and maintain vaccination records.
Community leaders will help monitor compliance and coordinate with veterinary authorities during vaccination campaigns.
The district administration has made it clear that owners are responsible for preventing their animals from becoming a threat to neighbours, pedestrians, tenants or other members of the public.
For certain breeds — including Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds and Dobermans — owners have been directed to use muzzles when the dogs are taken outside their residences.
Warning signboards may also be required where appropriate.
The policy is intended to reduce bite risk while strengthening traceability and vaccination coverage among owned dogs.
Pet-dog bite incidents must be reported to police
The district has also introduced a stronger enforcement element.
When a pet dog bites someone, the incident must be reported immediately to the nearest police station.
Authorities may take action under Section 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) where the circumstances involve rash or negligent conduct that endangers human life or personal safety.
Police units across East Khasi Hills have also been authorised to act against habitual offenders whose dogs repeatedly create safety risks.
The provision does not mean every dog bite automatically results in criminal liability. The applicability of Section 125 depends on the facts and the degree of negligence involved.
Dorbar Shnongs may also impose fines or other penalties under their applicable local norms.
Public feeding will move to designated areas
The district is also changing how community dogs are fed.
Indiscriminate feeding in public places has been prohibited, with localities instructed to identify specific, regulated feeding locations away from busy public spaces and markets.
The objective is not to stop community feeding entirely, but to prevent dogs from congregating unpredictably in high-footfall areas.
Local bodies and market committees have also been told to improve food-waste disposal, since open waste can attract free-roaming animals and create recurring congregation points.
This links waste management directly with animal management — an important part of the One Health approach.
Vaccination and sterilisation drives will expand
The district Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Officer, Shillong Municipal Board and Dorbar Shnongs have been tasked with carrying out systematic anti-rabies vaccination and sterilisation drives for community dogs.
The pilot programme in Laban has already begun vaccinating dogs.
Vaccination is central to rabies elimination because reducing transmission in the dog population directly lowers human exposure risk.
NAPRE itself is built around sustained mass dog vaccination, access to post-exposure care, surveillance and public awareness.
Sterilisation has a different role: it helps stabilise free-roaming dog populations over time and makes vaccination coverage easier to maintain.
Stray dogs will need medical checks before adoption
Another part of the district plan concerns adoption.
Community or stray dogs must undergo medical evaluation before being handed over for adoption.
That gives veterinarians an opportunity to assess health, vaccination status and any medical issues before the animal enters a household.
It also creates a more formal pathway between rescue, veterinary care and adoption.
Hospitals must maintain uninterrupted rabies supplies
The human-health side of the plan is equally important.
The district Medical and Health Officer has been instructed to ensure an uninterrupted supply of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) and rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) at designated health centres.
Health facilities must also keep detailed records of animal-bite cases and distinguish between pet-dog and stray-dog bites.
Better classification could help officials identify where the greatest risks are coming from and whether interventions are working.
For bite victims, however, the immediate rule remains simple: every potentially risky dog bite or scratch should be treated seriously and assessed promptly for post-exposure prophylaxis.
Laban is the pilot before a wider Shillong rollout
Deputy Commissioner Abhilash Baranwal has described community participation as critical to the programme.
The Laban pilot is intended to test how government departments, Dorbar Shnongs, veterinarians and residents can work together before the model expands across Shillong and eventually into rural East Khasi Hills.
Additional Deputy Commissioner F.B. Basan has similarly urged local community leaders to maintain pet records, support vaccination and ensure that owners take responsibility for their animals.
The success of the programme will therefore depend on more than enforcement.
It requires vaccination coverage, owner compliance, waste control, bite reporting, accessible post-exposure treatment and cooperation from neighbourhood institutions.
Rabies elimination will require pet owners as well as stray-dog management
The new East Khasi Hills framework makes one important point especially clear: reducing rabies risk cannot be achieved by focusing only on free-roaming dogs.
When pet dogs account for around four out of five reported bites, responsible ownership becomes a major public-health issue.
Registration, vaccination, appropriate restraint and immediate reporting of bite incidents must work alongside sterilisation and vaccination of community dogs.
If East Khasi Hills can turn the Laban pilot into a functioning district-wide system, it could provide a useful model for other Indian cities trying to balance public safety, responsible pet ownership and humane dog population management.
The 2030 target is ambitious.
But the district’s new approach reflects the central principle behind NAPRE: rabies elimination depends on coordinated action across human health, veterinary care and the communities where people and dogs live together.
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