ANIMAL WELFARE AND INDIA’S PATH TO ONE HEALTH
Dr. Bhupika Dewangan ,Veterinarian, M.V.Sc. Veterinary Medicine, Chhattisgarh, Durg
India ranks as the seventh-largest country globally, covering an area of 3,287,263 square kilometers.According to UNFPA’s State of World Population Report 2025, India’s human population is estimated to be 1.46 billion.As per the 20th livestock census given by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, the total livestock population is 535.78 million in the country and showing an increase of 4.6% from the previous livestock census-2012 and accounts for 20% of the world’s livestock population.
In today’s world, the health of human beings, animals, and the environment is increasingly recognized as interdependent.
India is a country where livestock farming, companion animals and human-animal interaction play a central role in the rural and urban environment and animal welfare is more than an ethical responsibility.
Animal welfare refers to the physical and psychological well-being of animals, both domesticated and wild. It encompasses adequate nutrition, shelter, health care, and freedom from pain, discomfort.
One Health is not only timely but also essential for ensuring food security, controlling zoonotic diseases, and achieving sustainable development.
The One Health approach, defined by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), is a collaborative, transdisciplinary framework that recognizes the deep interconnection between human health, animal (wild and domestic) health and environmental integrity. It promotes coordinated efforts across sectors to prevent, detect, and respond to health challenges that arise at the interface of people, animals and ecosystems, aiming for the sustainable well-being of all life forms on the planet.
ICAR (2021) identified 151 Indian districts as hotspots for zoonotic diseases such as Brucellosis and Leptospirosis.
WHO report in 2022 stated that at least one new zoonotic disease emerges globally every on 4-months, mainly in countries with poor animal welfare and sanitation standards.
Studies suggest that a significant portion about 60 % of human infectious illness are zoonotic.
The implementation and enforcement of animal protection laws is carried out by the following authorities:
- Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI)
- State Animal Welfare Board (SAWB)
- Food Safety Department
- Forest Department
- Transport Department
- Local Authority
- Customs Department
- District Society for Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (SPCA)
- Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. The primary objective of this law is to protect animals from unnecessary pain or suffering and to ensure their welfare and humane treatment.
- For protection and conservation of wild animals – Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. It prohibits hunting, poaching, and illegal trade of wild animals.
- Euthanasiais a humane method of ending the life of an individual, typically an animal or human to relieve from incurable, painful, or severely debilitating conditions.
Animals should be kept according to the following 5 freedoms, as it gives comfort:
- Freedom to express normal behaviour
- Freedom from discomfort
- Freedom from fear
- Freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition
- Freedom from pain, injury and diseases
According to the Animal Welfare Board of India, Animal welfare is not separate from public health; it is foundational to it.
Inadequate animal welfare practices lead to:
- Increase disease susceptibility in animals,
- Higher risk of zoonotic transmission,
- Antibiotic misuse and resistance,
- Stress induces immunosuppression in animals,
- Poor food safety and public health crises.
India has recently taken important steps toward implementing one health:
- National One Health Mission (NOHM): proposed by the department of biotechnology which aims to integrate disease surveillance and pandemic preparedness.
- Establishment of the national institute for one health in Nagpur (2021).
- Collaboration with international agencies like WHO, FAO and WOAH to build capacity in zoonosis management.
- Initiatives by ICAR (Indian Council of Agriculture Research) and DAHD (Department of Animal Husbandry) for disease control in animals {example: NADCP (National Animal Disease Control Programme) for FMD and Brucellosis}.
India’s diversity – cultural, ecological, and agricultural offers unique opportunities for innovative and original solutions that blend tradition with modern science.
- Regenerating Ethno-veterinary knowledge
India has a rich history of Ayurvedic and traditional veterinary practices, which can be validated through scientific research and incorporated into welfare-friendly disease management.
- Smart Animal Welfare Technologies
Internet of things (IoT)-based monitoring systems, such as wearable collars to track animal health parameters, Mobile veterinary apps that connect rural farmers to animal care experts and AI-based diagnostics using images to detect; lameness, or parasitic infections in animals.
These technology-based tools are emerging as cost-effective for improving animal welfare in India’s rural areas.
- Community-Based Welfare Models
Gaushalas, local animal shelters, and farmer collectives managing dairy herds can be trained and supported to function as grassroots One Health units, promoting vaccination, biosecurity, and humane care.
The relationship between animal welfare and human health is multi-layered and systemic, which can be broken down as follows:
Public Health Reduces spread of zoonoses: rabies, leptospirosis, brucellosis
Food Security & Nutrition: Improves quality of milk, meat, and eggs, reduces microbial load.
Economic Sustainability: Healthier animals lead to higher productivity and minimize disease burden.
AMR Control: Reduces misuse of antibiotics, a major global concern.
Environmental Health: Humane grazing, proper waste disposal, and animal shelter management support ecology.
By treating animal welfare as preventive healthcare, India can avoid massive downstream costs associated with outbreaks, drug resistance, and food-borne illnesses,Data, Facts, and Research-Backed Information.
To achieve a truly One Health-aligned future, India must prioritize animal welfare through the following steps:
- Policy Integration
Include animal welfare indicators in rural health and livestock schemes such as the Rastriya Gokul Mission and National Livestock Mission.
Enforce the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act with updated welfare standards.
- Veterinary Infrastructure Enhancement
Increase the veterinarian-to-livestock ratio through new colleges and mobile vet units. Build community animal health centres in remote regions.
- Training and Awareness
Conduct regular training programs for farmers, butchers, and animal handlers on disease prevention, hygiene, and humane handling.
Launch mass awareness campaigns on zoonotic diseases and AMR control.
- Research and Innovation Support
Fund research on local disease patterns, vaccine delivery, and nutritional management based on regional needs.
Encourage startups and Agri-tech innovators working on welfare technologies and veterinary telemedicine.
- Inter-sectoral Coordination
Create District One Health Cells that include veterinarians, human health professionals, environmental officers, and Panchayati Raj representatives.
CONCLUSION:
India’s journey toward achieving the One Health vision is both a challenge and an opportunity. With its immense animal population, traditional knowledge base, and emerging digital tools, India can become a global leader in demonstrating how animal welfare is not an isolated concern, but a central strategy for health, development, and sustainability.
A welfare-driven animal health system will help prevent disease outbreaks, reduce poverty in rural areas, ensure food safety, and protect future generations from the threat of antimicrobial resistance and pandemics. Now is the time to act by placing animal welfare at the heart of India’s One Health roadmap.
