ANIMAL WELFARE DIVISION | Department of animal husbandry and dairying

About Animal Welfare Division

The Animal Welfare subject has been transferred to the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Dairying from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in pursuance to the notification No S.O. 1531 (E) dated 4th April, 2019 after amending the Allocation of Business Rules. Accordingly, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) and Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animal (CCSEA) are under the administrative control of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The activities of these organizations are as under:

1. Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI):

The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) was set up in 1962 in accordance with Section 4 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 (No.59 of 1960). The well-known humanitarian Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale was the Founder Chairperson of the Board.

The Board consists of 28 Members including six Members of Parliament (4 from Lok Sabha and 2 from Rajya Sabha yet to be nominated in the present Board) and others from different walks of life, all nominated by the Government of India. The Board is reconstituted once in three years. The present Board was re-constituted for a period of three years by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Govt. of India we.f. 15.05.2023 having 21 members as on date. Dr. Muthukumarasamy B., IAS, Joint Secretary, DAHD has been nominated as the Chairman of the Board.

The functions of the Animal Welfare Board of India are provided under Section 9 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. In short, the AWBI is mandated to keep the law in force in India for the d Prevention of Cruelty to Animals under constant d study and advise the Central Government on the making of rules under the Act, amendment needed with a view to prevent unnecessary pain or suffering to animals.

2. Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA):

The Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA) is a statutory Committee constituted under Section 15 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. There are 20 members in the present CCSEA wherein Joint Secretary (AWD) is the Chairman of CCSEA and Joint Commissioner (Animal Welfare) is the Member Secretary of CCSEA.

The CCSEA is duty bound to take all such measures as may be necessary to ensure that animals are not subjected to unnecessary pain or suffering before, during or after performance of experiments on them. For this purpose, the Committee formulated the "Breeding of and Experiments on Animals (Control & Supervision) Rules, 1998" (amended in 2001 & 2006) to regulate the experimentation on animals.Under the provisions of the above rules, establishments engaged in bio-medical research are required to get themselves registered with CCSEA, constitute institutional animal ethics committee (IAEC), get their animal house facilities inspected, and also get specific projects for research cleared by CCSEA before commencing the research on animals. further, breeding and trade of animals for such experimentation are also regulated under these rules. As on 31.12.2024, 1697 establishments are registered with CCSEA.

ACTS:

1. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 Download
2. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Amendment) Act, 1982 Download
3. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 as amended in 1982 Download
4. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 as amended in 1982 (Hindi Version) Download
5. Cattle Trespass Act, 1871 Download
6. Cattle Trespass Act Amendment (Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0) Download
7. Notification of Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 Download

RULES:

1. Cattle Trespass Rules, 2026 Download
2. Administrative CCSEA Amendment Rules, 2026 Download
3. Animal Welfare Board of India (Group ‘B’ & Group 'C' posts) Recruitment Regulations, 2024 Download
4. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Animal Husbandry Practices and Procedures) Rules, 2023 Download
5. Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 Download
6. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Egg Laying Hens) Rules, 2023 Download
7. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Pet Shop Rules) Rules, 2018 Download
8. Proper implementation of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Live stock Market) Rule, 2017 Download
9. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dog Breeding and Marketing Rules) Rules, 2017 Download
10. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules, 2017 Download
11. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2010 Download
12. Transport of Animals (Amendment) Rules, 2009 Download
13. Performing Animals (Registration) Amendment Rules, 2002 Download
14. Transport of Animals (Amendment) Rules, 2001 Download
15. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Establishment and Regulation of Societies for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Rules, 2001 Download
16. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001 Download
17. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Transport of Animals on Foot) Rules, 2001 Download
18. Performing Animals (Registration) Rules, 2001 Download
19. Ban on Exhibition/Training of Five Performing Animals notified in 1998 Download
20. The Prevention of Cruelty (Capture of Animals) Rules, 1979 Download
21. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Registration of Cattle Premises) Rules, 1978 Download
22. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Application of Fines) Rules, 1978 Download
23. The Transport of Animals Rules, 1978 Download
24. The Performing Animals Rules, 1973 Download
25. The Prevention of Cruelty to Draught and Pack Animals Rules, 1965 (as amended up to 9th December, 1968) Download
26. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Licensing of Farriers) Rules, 1965 Download
27. Animal Welfare Board (Administrative) Rules, 1962 Download
28. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Election of Members to Animal Welfare Board) Rules 1961 Download
29. Animal Welfare Board (Executive Committee) Regulations, 1964 Download

Reconstitution of AWBI:

1. Gazette Notification S.O. 2222(E) dated 15.05.2023 for Reconstitution of the Animal Welfare Board of India Download
2. Gazette Notification S.O. 2353(E) dated 22.05.2023 regarding corrigendum Download
3. Gazette Notification S.O 3911(E) dated 01.09.2023 for inclusion of Dr. Manilal Valliyate as Member, AWBI Download
4. Gazette Notification S.O 1817 dated 19.09.2024 for nomination of Dr. Abhijit Mitra, Animal Husbandry Commissioner as Chairman, AWBI Download
5. Gazette Notification S.O 4376(E) dated 22.09.2025 for inclusion of Dr. Muthukumarasamy B., IAS, Joint Secretary as the Member, AWBI and Removal of Sh. Rakesh Gupta Download
6. Gazette Notification S.O 4500(E) dated 01.10.2025 for nomination of Dr. Muthukumarasamy B., IAS, Joint Secretary as Chairman, AWBI Download
7. Gazette Notification S.O 5291(E) dated 12.11.2025 for inclusion of Shri R. Raghu Ram Sharma as Member, AWBI Download
8. Gazette Notification S.O 2468(E) dated 13.05.2026 for Extension of the term of AWBI till 14.11.2026 or till the constitution of the new Board, whichever is earlier Download