Photo courtesy of Egypt's cabinet
In a statement, the ministry said the campaign, carried out by the General Authority for Veterinary Services (GAVS), aims to curb the spread of rabies, strengthen public health safeguards, and promote humane animal management practices.
Field veterinary teams are conducting vaccination and sterilization drives across multiple governorates in line with approved scientific standards to ensure public safety, contain the disease, and manage stray dog populations sustainably, the statement added.
The operations are being implemented in coordination with civil society organizations and the Federation of Animal Welfare Associations, reflecting what officials described as a collaborative approach to animal welfare and zoonotic disease control.
In parallel, veterinary outreach programmes are focusing on raising public awareness about the importance of promptly reporting suspected rabies cases and interacting responsibly with animals, describing community engagement as a cornerstone of efforts to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Egypt has recently rolled out a nationwide strategy to combat rabies and manage stray dog populations, officially estimated at 10–11 million, through a catch, neuter, vaccinate, and release (CNVR) approach.
The programme, led by the GAVS under the ministry, is designed to curb dog-mediated rabies infections while promoting humane animal management in line with international public health standards.
Under the policy, stray dogs are captured, vaccinated against rabies, sterilized, and either returned to their original locations to preserve ecological balance or transferred to designated shelters if they are aggressive or suspected of carrying disease.
Officials have stressed that culling and poisoning are prohibited.
Earlier phases of the strategy prioritized densely populated governorates, including Cairo and Giza, before expanding to other areas based on reported cases and population density.
Authorities have also allocated 12 plots of land to establish shelters outside residential zones to house high-risk animals.
Previous updates cited thousands of vaccinations and sterilizations carried out annually, alongside public awareness campaigns and veterinary outreach seminars aimed at encouraging prompt reporting of suspected rabies cases and responsible interaction with animals.
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