What’s next for Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow’s ABC programme success?

Launched in 2019, Lucknow Municipal Corporation's (LMC) Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme has emerged as a national benchmark for humane and effective stray dog management. The programme is based on a ‘capture, sterilise, vaccinate, and release’ model. Through a partnership with NGOs like Humane World for Animals India, LMC has sterilised and vaccinated 84% of the city’s stray dogs.

Currently, Uttar Pradesh has 17 operational Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres, with new facilities planned in Lucknow and Ghaziabad. As per reports, the urban development department has allocated ₹33 crore to strengthen this initiative.

Moreover, a specialised training centre is being established in Lucknow to support the expansion. It will train veterinary surgeons, civic officials, and field staff in humane practices such as safe capture of strays, sterilisation, vaccination, and release.

Lucknow

• Stray dog birth rate dropped from 8 per 100 dogs in 2019 to under 4 in 2025.

• Sterilised dogs rose from 4.9% to between 78–83%.

• Daily operations: 60–65 dogs, marked with a V-notch.

• Lactating females reduced from 13% to 2%.

• Overall stray population increased from 75,000 in 2019 to 1.2 lakh in 2025

Uttar Pradesh

Moreover, 2.84 lakh dogs have been sterilised and vaccinated across Uttar Pradesh, including 1.25 lakh in 2023–24 and 1.19 lakh in 2024–25. Between April and mid-July 2025, nearly 50,000 strays were sterilised across 17 cities with municipal corporations.