Leading with Vision

Mahinda Rajapaksa's Plan to Sterilize 1 Million Dogs

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All great leaders begin with bold visions; without it, action lacks purpose and courage.

In 2006, Mahinda Rajapaksa introduced a nationwide 'No Kill/Sterilization' policy for stray dogs, a decision that was remarkably visionary for its time (Singapore only adopted 'No Kill/Sterilization' as its official national policy more than a decade later, in 2018).

For over a century, Sri Lanka had followed the outdated 1893 Rabies Ordinance introduced by the British to 'capture & kill' stray dogs. President Rajapakse's policy shift, announced during the 2500th Sambuddhathva Jayanthi, was as much a humane decision as a practical, science-based response to the complete failure of a colonial-era approach.

Hereafter, government efforts would be directed to sterilize, vaccinate, and release dogs to their original locations, where their numbers would decline naturally over time without the ability to reproduce.

Mahinda Rajapakse's policy also brought Sri Lanka in step with other countries in the region that had abandoned 'capture & kill' after recognizing its complete ineffectiveness in Asia's urban and cultural context.