Mission Rabies

We know that infected dog bites are the main cause of rabies in people and that killing dogs does not stop the disease.

The World Health Organisation states that mass canine vaccination programmes are the most effective measure for controlling rabies, and that vaccinating 70% of the dogs in an area where rabies is prevalent is necessary to control the disease in both humans and dogs.

Some places in the world have successfully used mass vaccination programmes to become canine rabies-free for over 10 years - examples include Panama, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and some parts of Peru and Brazil. We want to achieve the same in India and across the globe.

We are setting up the India National Rabies Network, the first initiative of its kind, developed in conjunction with the Association for Prevention and Control of Rabies in India (APCRI) and the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI).

This will establish the country's first database recording where canine rabies vaccinations are given and by whom, and will supply cheap, effective vaccine nationally, to enable us to drive forward mass canine vaccination campaigns.

We will then roll this out across the globe.

Mission Rabies launched a 30 day mass vaccination campaign in September 2013, which will run every September hereafter, to coincide with World Rabies Day.

The purpose of this is twofold; to achieve a target of vaccinating at least 50,000 dogs in 30 days across 12 selected rabies hotspot areas, and secondly, to attract huge public support (both in India and internationally), promote community awareness and to generate sponsorship for the India National Rabies Network.

Beyond the initial 30 day vaccination mission, our fully-equipped mobile veterinary hospital truck will perform the vital work of training Indian vets at each of the vaccination checkpoints to carry out surgical neutering of street dogs, also known as Animal Birth Control (ABC).

By neutering female dogs in the areas where we are vaccinating, we aim to slow the turnover of the population, so our vaccination programme will be more effective and sustainable.

Our International Training Centre in Ooty, Southern India, has already trained over 300 Indian vets on comprehensive canine surgical courses, accredited by the Animal Welfare Board of India. We want to take these training programmes out on the road across India, to the areas where they are needed most.

This is a huge mission, with the potential to save the lives of hundreds of people and dogs across India, but we cannot do this alone. We need you to get involved and to make a difference.

Keep up to date with our blog posts, spread the word via Facebook or Twitter and consider making a donation via the link on this page. Just £5 will vaccinate 20 dogs against rabies for a whole year!

If you are a vet, vet nurse or vet student, consider joining us in India in September for the volunteering mission of a lifetime! Click on the link on this page to download the volunteer pack.

No-one needs to die from rabies. Join Mission Rabies and help save lives in India and across the world.