A community dog is a stray or street dog regularly fed and cared for by residents in a fixed area — the person who does this is called a community dog feeder. Community dog feeders have legal recognition under India's Animal Birth Control Rules 2023, with the right to feed dogs in public spaces without interference from residents or municipal authorities.
A community dog feeder (also called a community feeder or street dog feeder) is an individual who regularly provides food and water to stray or community dogs in a fixed geographic area. Under India's Animal Birth Control Rules 2023, feeders have a recognised legal status and the right to feed dogs in public spaces without interference from residents or municipal authorities.
Feeders are typically individuals — often women, retirees, or neighbourhood residents — who have taken responsibility for the welfare of the dogs in their immediate locality. Their role goes far beyond feeding:
Feed and provide water at consistent times and locations — reducing foraging, garbage disturbance, and dog movement into conflict areas.
Coordinate with local vets or NGOs for anti-rabies vaccination drives. Feeders often know which dogs have been dosed and which haven't.
Help identify and facilitate the capture of unsterilised dogs for municipal or NGO ABC programmes. Track which dogs are already sterilised.
Report sick, injured, or unusually aggressive dogs to local vets, shelters, or municipal authorities — they're often the first to notice changes in dog health.
India's first national framework for stray dog management. Established that street dogs could not be removed or killed — only sterilised and vaccinated. Created the foundation for feeder rights by implying dogs had a right to exist in their territory.
Multiple High Court and Supreme Court rulings affirmed that individuals have the right to feed community dogs in public spaces. Municipal authorities cannot prohibit feeding — they can only regulate where and when.
The updated ABC Rules explicitly recognise community feeders. RWAs (Resident Welfare Associations) and municipal bodies must designate feeding spots and cannot harass or obstruct registered feeders.
Community feeders are India's informal stray dog management network. They know more about the dogs in their area than any municipal database — but until now, that knowledge lived only in their heads.
India accounts for approximately 36% of global rabies deaths — and dogs are the primary vector. The barrier to reducing this is not the absence of vaccines; it's the inability to track which dogs have been vaccinated and which haven't. A dog vaccinated in January might be re-vaccinated in March by a different feeder or NGO, while the dog two streets over was missed entirely.
Community feeders are the natural owners of this information — they see their dogs daily. What they lack is a system to record it in a way that travels beyond their own notebook or phone contacts list. That's the gap Muzzl fills.
Register the dogs in your area with a nose-print scan — no tag, no chip, no paperwork. Log vaccination dates, share records with nearby vets, and prove ABC status to inspectors. Free for all community feeders.
Register as a feeder