Ensuring animal welfare is crucial to prevent zoonotic diseases

Hindustan Times

7 days ago

The recent reopening of Gorakhpur and Kanpur zoos after a 56-day closure due to a bird flu scare has once again highlighted the ever-present threat of zoonotic diseases in India. In the aftermath of such incidents, much of the public discussion and policy response tends to focus on disease management systems, including surveillance, laboratory upgrades, and emergency protocols. However, as India observed World Zoonoses Day on July 6, 2025, with the theme One World, One Health: Prevent Zoonoses, it is important to recognise that animal welfare remains a critical but often overlooked factor in preventing zoonotic diseases. Zoo (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)
In India, common zoonoses such as Japanese encephalitis, leptospirosis, scrub typhus, kyasanur forest disease, brucellosis, and rabies have caused significant public health challenges in recent years. India's approach to zoonotic disease prevention has evolved considerably, guided by a growing understanding of the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health through the One Health framework. Despite this progress, the scale of the challenge remains significant.
The World Organization for Animal Health reports that over 60% of existing infectious diseases and 75% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic. According to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), India records a median of seven zoonotic outbreaks every month, making it one of the countries with the highest burdens of infectious and zoonotic diseases globally.
India's efforts to address zoonotic diseases have been shaped by the One Health approach, which seeks to integrate human, animal and environmental health systems. The National One Health Programme for Prevention and Control of Zoonoses, which is active across all states and union territories, is a testament to this shift. The priorities of the programme include strengthening surveillance, building laboratory capacity, and fostering intersectoral coordination.
In October last year, the department of animal husbandry and dairying launched the Pandemic Fund Project 'Animal Health Security Strengthening in India for Pandemic Preparedness and Response'. This $25 million fund is directed towards ensuring enhanced disease surveillance, improved laboratory networks, and better emergency response mechanisms.
Despite these advances in recognising animal health as key to preventing zoonoses, India's current policy framework remains heavily reliant on disease surveillance and outbreak control, with limited attention to the broader dimensions of animal health. Intensified livestock production to meet rising protein demands and rapid deforestation due to unplanned urbanisation have led to dense human-animal habitations putting India at a critical juncture.
Research shows that healthy and well-cared for animals are less likely to become reservoirs or amplifiers of zoonotic pathogens. Proactive measures such as minimising stress through better living conditions in livestock and wildlife populations has been shown to be beneficial to make animals less susceptible to infections.
Global health organisations, including the World Organisation for Animal Health, have emphasised that the One Health approach must include comprehensive animal welfare standards as a foundation for disease prevention. Animal welfare within this framework is not limited to disease prevention and veterinary treatment but also includes aspects such as reducing overcrowding, ensuring proper housing, nutrition, humane handling, and the ability for animals to express normal behaviour.
Yet, there are no comprehensive measures within India's current policies to mandate and incentivise improvements in animal welfare standards.
Take India's National Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance (NAP-AMR), which acknowledges the role of animal health in the fight against drug resistant infections. However, in prioritising surveillance, management of antibiotic use and infection control, it continues to ignore the root cause - poor animal welfare and management practices--that drives the need for antibiotics in the first place.
To close the gap, India's animal health policies need to move beyond surveillance and control, which are necessary but not sufficient measures in themselves. This would begin by updating and enforcing animal welfare laws to include standards for housing, space and care in both livestock and wildlife sectors.
Funding from pandemic prevention and One Health initiatives should not just be utilised towards building technical infrastructure. Dedicated funding should be allocated for animal welfare initiatives in livestock, poultry, and wildlife, with incentives for veterinarians, farmers, and animal handlers to adopt best practices.
Simultaneously strengthening monitoring and evaluation, will ensure that welfare interventions translate into reduced disease risk.
For India, integrating animal welfare into national policy is not just an ethical imperative but a pragmatic one. True prevention requires a comprehensive approach to animal health. Healthy animals are less likely to shed pathogens, reducing the risk of spillover to humans.
As recent outbreaks have shown, the cost of inaction is far greater than the price of preparedness. By prioritising animal health and welfare, India can safeguard public health, protect rural livelihoods, and secure its place as a global leader in zoonoses prevention.
This article is authored by Pallavi Krishnappa, researcher, ALPN Research Foundation.