Got furbabies? Get a licence or pay Rs 5,000
The licensing system has been in place since August 2023 to regulate pet ownership within the corporation's limits and can be accessed through the Greater Chennai Corporation website
Dog
CHENNAI: In a move to curb the increasing abandonment of foreign pet dogs and to regularise pet licensing, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) adopted a resolution in the monthly council meeting on Thursday, mandating the dog and cat owners within the Chennai Corporation limits to obtain a licence. Accordingly, pet owners who fail to secure the pet licence will face a fine of Rs 5,000 starting from November 24.
Further, the Corporation staff will carry out door-to-door field inspection and a fine of Rs 500 will be imposed on owners who bring their dogs to public places, including parks, footpaths and other public gathering places without a collar. The fines will be collected through the divisional health inspector and the sanitation inspector.
According to Section 292 of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998, and its Rules of 2023, it is mandatory for pet owners within the GCC limits to obtain a licence.
The licensing system has been in place since August 2023 to regulate pet ownership within the corporation's limits and can be accessed through the Greater Chennai Corporation website. An improved online portal was launched by Mayor R Priya on October 3 to expedite the process of obtaining a pet licence.
To obtain a pet license, owners have to register their details, upload a photograph of their pet and pay Rs 50 as a fee. To ensure that pets are vaccinated against rabies annually and to prevent pet abandonment by their owners, microchipping of all pets has been made mandatory, which will record data, including the pet owner's name, address, and rabies vaccination certificate.
Further, GCC adopted a resolution to procure 2 lakh microchips and 80 stick RFID electronic readers, to develop a dedicated software for 2 lakh pets and dogs, to design, implement, operate and maintain a comprehensive platform, manage data, to create a mobile app for dog catchers, develop, maintain and manage a pet licensing portal, at Rs 5.20 crore. For the same, the work order was issued to contractor Exhilar Innovative Solutions Private Limited with multi-stage conditions specifying all services.
