2025 Year in Review: Together, We Never Gave Up
As 2025 comes to a close, we reflect on a year that tested us deeply, and showed what’s possible when people refuse to look away from suffering.
It wasn’t an easy year. Street dogs faced Supreme Court orders threatening mass removal. Nepal endured political upheaval and violence. Temperatures soared above 100°F across the subcontinent. Yet your support kept rescue teams operating, ABC programs running, and sanctuaries open.
Here’s what we accomplished together in 2025:
The Fight for India’s Street Dogs
This year brought unprecedented challenges for community dogs. In August, the Supreme Court ordered all stray dogs removed from Delhi-NCR and sent to shelters. By November, the order expanded nationwide to schools, hospitals, transport hubs, and government buildings.
But something remarkable happened: India stood up. Protests erupted in Chennai, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Delhi and elsewhere Caregivers and animal lovers carried signs reading “Home Is Not a Cage” and “Freedom Is a Basic Right – even for Dogs.” A Times of India poll found 85% of respondents aren’t affected by stray dogs, 83% see no safety issue, and 86% identify as dog lovers.
The orders are now under review by a larger bench, offering real hope for amendment or reversal. Meanwhile, Help Animals India continued funding hundreds of monthly sterilisations through our grantees, proving that ABC (animal birth control) works when properly supported.
Encouraging news followed in October, when Delhi notified a new Standard Operating Procedure for street dog management, uniting compassion, safety, and accountability.
ABC Across India and Nepal
Thanks to you, animals across India and Nepal received life-saving care:
- Varanasi for Animals (our project): 300 dogs helped monthly with spay/neuter and vaccinations
- 13th Annual Sarnath Camp: 312 dogs sterilised; 741 vaccinated against rabies
- Karuna Society: Continued a major ABC program in South India
- Nepal partners (Sneha’s Care, KATcentre, Animal Nepal, Magic Marble Foundation): Kept operations running despite political unrest and social media bans
World Rabies Day highlighted a preventable tragedy: over 20,000 people die from rabies in India each year. Every street dog sterilised by our partners also receives an anti-rabies vaccine, protecting both animals and communities.
Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation
From otters to leopards trapped in poultry sheds, your support helped grantees respond to countless emergencies:
- RESQ Charitable Trust: Regular releases of rehabilitated wildlife into the wild
- Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (WRRC): Six rescued elephants now thrive with space, water, companionship, and dignity
- Karuna Society: Three differently abled monkeys, survivors of electrocution and abandonment, now thrive together in sanctuary
In Varanasi, Hanuman, a young monkey paralysed in both hands after a dog attack, was rescued, treated, and now lives safely thanks to volunteer Neha ji and the VFA team.
Sanctuary for the Exploited
Rescue is one thing; lifetime care is another. Your support funded sanctuaries across India:
- Karuna’s Karunapalli wild cattle herd: Hundreds of cows and bulls rescued from dairy, meat markets, and abandonment now roam freely
- CUPA’s Large Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre: Lifetime homes for cattle no longer considered “useful”
- Raahat Animal Sanctuary, Dehradun: New facilities for animals rescued from slaughter
- WRRC Elephant Care Facility: Rescued elephants rediscover socialisation, play, and simply being elephants
The Forgotten Ones: Cats
While dogs often dominate animal welfare conversations, India’s street cats suffer quietly. Through our partners, we supported Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs, medical care, and adoption drives for these overlooked animals.
Education: Planting Seeds of Compassion
Change begins in classrooms:
- STRAW India: Animal welfare education reaching children nationwide
- VFA and other grantees: Rabies awareness programs in government schools, teaching safe coexistence with street animals
- Community outreach: Workshops on responsible pet ownership, ABC programs, and peaceful coexistence
New Tools, New Hope
Infrastructure makes a difference. In 2025, your support enabled:
- Just Be Friendly, Assam: Mobile OT ambulance bringing surgery to remote areas and fighting the dog meat trade
- Varanasi for Animals: Launch of our new website, varanasiforanimals.org
- Nepal’s first vegan festival: Help Animals India as a major sponsor, held in Kathmandu in July
Crisis Response
When disaster struck, your donations ensured continuous care:
- Nepal’s political upheaval: Despite government collapse and violence, grantees continued lifesaving work
- Extreme heat: Temperatures above 100°F across the Indian subcontinent, with emergency water and care provided
- Individual emergencies: From Munni, who lost an eye to violence, to abandoned puppies in floodwaters, rescue teams responded swiftly
The Numbers Behind the Work
In 2024 (our most recent complete grant data), Help Animals India distributed funds to established and emerging groups across India and Nepal. Every rupee supported:
- ABC programs (sterilisation and vaccination)
- Emergency rescue and medical care
- Sanctuary operations and expansion
- Wildlife rehabilitation
- Educational outreach
- Infrastructure (ambulances, surgical equipment, shelter improvements)
What 2026 Needs
The Supreme Court orders remain under review. Shelter infrastructure across India is still inadequate. Climate challenges are intensifying. The need hasn’t lessened – it has grown.
But we’ve also seen what’s possible. Communities standing up for street dogs. ABC programs succeeding when properly funded. Rescued elephants playing in ponds, cattle grazing freely, and three little monkeys forming a family out of hardship.
2026 will bring new challenges, but also new rescues, new sanctuaries, and new lives saved, thanks to people like you who refuse to give up.
Gratitude
To veterinarians performing surgeries in mobile units and makeshift clinics. To dog catchers working in extreme heat and monsoon rains. To feeders who show up every day, even when threatened. To sanctuary staff caring for hundreds of animals. To educators teaching children that compassion matters. And to donors who make it all possible.
The animals can’t say it, but we will: thank you for not looking away.
We wish you peace, health, and the courage to keep fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves.
With deepest gratitude and appreciation,
The Help Animals India Team, our colleagues in India and Nepal, and the animals we love and serve
Wow – Your Donation Goes Even Further! Thanks to current exchange rates, $1 USD = 90 Indian rupees and $1 USD = 143 Nepal rupees! Every dollar (or other currency) you can give now stretches farther than ever, helping us make an even bigger difference for animals in need.
Tax Note: Any donations sent in 2026 can pre-dated by postal check (to 2025) if you’d like them to count toward your 2025 U.S. tax deduction.
If interested please see previous 2025 updates here:
