Animal disease control: Centre notifies new rules on reporting, vaccination and carcass disposal

The Central Government has replaced the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Rules, 2010 with the new 2026 Rules, notified in October, 2026. Earlier, the Rules prescribed vaccination certificate formats, post-mortem procedures and methods for carcass disposal. The new 2026 Rules retain these requirements of the old Rules, while introducing portal based reporting of disease outbreaks by Village Officers and veterinarians, along with reporting of vaccination details and issuance of vaccination certificates through the Bharat Pashudhan portal. They also prescribe more detailed procedures for post mortem examinations, including submission of reports to the Central and State Governments within 12 hours. The Rules expand carcass disposal requirements to cover animals suspected of infection and introduce detailed record keeping obligations. They further establish a formal mechanism for complaints, adjudication and appeals, including procedures for imposing and recovering penalties for contraventions of the Act.