The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has sterilised more than 2,950 free-ranging dogs (FRDs) in Ladakh since 2022 as part of an initiative to protect the endangered ecosystem and the breeding population of the black-necked crane (BNC), officials said.

The conservation programme is being carried out jointly with the Indian Army, Animal Husbandry Department, and Department of Forest, Ecology & Environment. It aims to reduce the threat posed by free-ranging dogs to BNC chicks and other wildlife in the region’s alpine wetlands.