Amid growing demands to set up dog shelters and rising concerns over dog bite incidents, experts and activists continue to advocate for coexistence and scaling up ABC (Animal Birth Control) operations.
As of August 4, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has caught 10,401 dogs and completed 9,901 ABC surgeries. An official in the civic body said there is no consolidation of the expenditure for the street-dog related issues. “Last year, GCC spent over ₹55 lakh for medicines and this year, it would be for ₹85 lakh. Each veterinarian is paid ₹350 per surgery per male dog and ₹450 per female dog, in the five ABC centres in Pulianthope, Kannammapet, Lloyd’s Colony, Meenambakkam, and Sholinganallur,” official added.
“Further, there are 78 dog catchers for all 15 zones who are paid ₹753 per day, and 45 more will be added as soon as nine more dog catching vehicles are deployed,” an official said. Notably, these announcements were made during the GCC Budget session in February 21, 2024.
Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Karti P. Chidambaram called for a policy-level change to address the issue.
“The present method of vaccinating and sterilising dogs, then releasing them back onto the streets, is not working. These dogs often cause road accidents. GCC lacks the funds, manpower, and facilities. Co-existence on streets is not acceptable. Dogs and cattle cannot be in a free roaming state in the streets. The Corporation must have the wherewithal to vaccinate and sterilise all the free-roaming dogs in Chennai and move them to shelters. A policy shift is urgently needed. If people wish to adopt, that should also be encouraged,” he said.
Ward 61 Councillor Fathima Muzaffar of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) said,”Four months ago, a schoolgirl was bitten by street dogs in my ward in Egmore. Medical attention was provided, but the psychological trauma will remain forever. A probe committee should be convened to collect and analyse data on dog bites, including incident numbers, locations, treatment received (private or government), follow-up actions, and vaccinations administered to help in understanding and addressing the issue better.”
T.Fouzia Begum, an advocate at the Madras High Court and an animal activist, said, “There are no facilities for sheltering lakhs of dogs. If they are all amassed in one location, they may develop diseases. Dogs generally do not get aggressive unless they are infected, there is something triggering or to protect the pups.”
Ms. Fouziya said, “Abandoning pets occurs when adopters face pressure from homeowners and neighbours, which must be stopped. Further, conflicts often arise between locals and GCC volunteers. In Kasimedu, a volunteer was attacked by locals for feeding street dogs. One need not be an animal lover, but attacking animals or feeders must be avoided — children should be educated on this,” she added.
Meanwhile, in a study released in April 2024, Krithika Srinivasan, principal investigator of a research project on street dogs and public health (ROH-Indies), recommended that removing street dogs from their neighbourhoods needs to be avoided other than in exceptional circumstances such as cases of rabies or verified cases of repeated aggression. The complete eradication of street dogs, whether through killing, birth control or removal, is not advisable, study stated.
The GCC official said the tender for microchipping stray dogs was finalised and that for pet dogs will be finalised by this month. Later, regulations for pet owners such as vaccinations, penalties for abandoning etc., will be fomulated. So far, only 11,000 have licensed their pets, he added.
He stated, “Housing 1.8 lakh dogs permanently is not feasible, but critically ill dogs can be sheltered if permitted by law. GCC will increase ABC operations from 20,000 to 50,000 per month after establishing 10 more centers in the next three months, which should help reduce the issue.”
Published – August 14, 2025 11:35 am IST
