A programme to sterilise and vaccinate neighbourhood dogs against rabies was established in Jaipur, India. Neighbourhood dogs were captured humanely, sterilised surgically, vaccinated against rabies and, when they had recovered, released where they had been caught. Between November 1994 and December 2002, 24,986 dogs were treated in this way. Direct observational surveys of the local dog population indicated that 65 per cent of the females were sterilised and vaccinated, and that the population declined by 28 per cent. The records of human cases of rabies seen in the main government hospital of the city between January 1992 and December 2002 showed that the number of cases had declined to zero in the programme area but increased in other areas.