

Due to the work of DAS and KAS, together with the Darjeeling and Kalimpong Municipalities, all poisoning of street dogs has stopped from 1998 onwards. The street dogs are now safe and friendly. Puppies are not being born to die an early death from starvation and disease. Furthermore, nearly all the street dogs, together with many pet dogs, have been vaccinated by the shelter. Now people know the dogs are not rabies vectors, they are less frightened of the dogs.

Video credit to Rapden Lama

What We do

In both Darjeeling and Kalimpong, street dogs (and often pet dogs, mistakenly) were being poisoned with strychnine by the Municipalities because the dogs were possibly the carriers of rabies. The dogs took a long time to die in great agony. Cats also ate the baits and died slow and painful deaths. The World Health Organisation had stated that removing dogs would not control rabies, because new dogs (possible vectors of rabies) would move in to fill the empty biological niche (maybe a rubbish tip with food, or a warm place to sleep). The WHO recommended that street dogs should instead be vaccinated against rabies and neutered. Then they would guard their place in order to protect it from intruder dogs. This is called an ABC (Animal Birth Control) programme in India. The Chairman of both Darjeeling and Kalimpong Municipalities agreed to stop poisoning all dogs and since then KAS and DAS have successfully carried out ABC programmes. No further dogs in either Municipality have been poisoned. We thank both Municipalities for their work with DGAS.

About Darjeeling Goodwill Animal Shelter Trust

At the request of Jeremy and Christine Townend, Darjeeling Goodwill Animal Shelter, a registered Indian Charitable Trust, was established on 29 September, 1993, with the help of GK Tiwari, an officer with the Government of Rajasthan.

Initially the Trust ran two projects: the Goodwill Centre, established in 1998, based in Bijoy Lodge, Kutchery Road, Darjeeling, and the Kalimpong Animal Shelter, based in Bong Busty, Kalimpong, established in 1998.

Today, the Trust carries out four projects, helping both humans and animals.

These are:
1) Kalimpong Animal Shelter
2) Darjeeling Animal Shelter
3) Crookety Museum
4) The Goodwill Centre, Darjeeling

Blogs & Stories


DGAS Annual Magazine 2019 - 2020 

Village camp by Kalimpong Animal Shelter

Village camp plays a very crucial role in the life of animals in the hill stations of West Bengal. V   illage camp basically is an outreach programme for the community animals living far off. It is through VILLAGE CAMP Kas extends its programme of Animal Birth Control...

Rescue of the other stray girl from Darjeeling

Meet Brownie   Woofers, an association of furry friends informed Darjeeling Goodwill Animal Shelter about the dog that was hit by a car. The dog couldn’t walk and her front leg was swollen, mainly the paw. The Animal Shelter team then further picked her up,...

It’s not about rainbows and sunshine all the time but about the storm that one has to face

Stray dog gets into a scuffle and hurt each other leaving dog bite marks around ears that later form maggots. Meet the brave stray dog, Tom Last year, Kalimpong Animal Shelter team rescued a dog with maggot wound in his ear after he got into a scuffle with his mates....

Adoption drive for Shelter and homeless puppies das

Adoption drive for Shelter and homeless puppies das   Due to the growing number of people interested in buying dogs, adoption of Shelter and street puppies are quite rare these days.  However, both Kalimpong and Darjeeling Animal Shelters have been spreading awareness...



Abandoned dog finds a home

Dog chained up all night long against the pillar of Kalimpong Animal Shelter by his owner and thus, abandoned forever finds a home It was a cold morning in November, with the onset of winter, Shelter dogs and puppies were huddling together, with their lazy yawns and...

Camp at Bhalukhop & Rambi


Animal Birth Control in Kurseong ,2019

For the past decade, Kalimpong Animal Shelter has been of great importance to not only animals but also humans. To help distant places and towns where Shelter for animals doesn’t exist, Kalimpong Animal Shelter has extended a helping hand to those in need. Kurseong,...

Chibbo camp

On 11th August, 2018 Kalimpong Animal Shelter conducted an Animal Birth Control camp at the request of a local village coordinator Nigam from Chibbo Busty. The camp was held in a community hall at Chibbo Busty where such ABC camps were held previously.  Year after...



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