The Greater Chennai Corporation has recently announced that they will soon launch an online platform where pet owners can seamlessly register for their pets’ licence. This initiative was scheduled to launch a couple of months back but was paused due to the pandemic. 

Pet owners will now be entitled to avail free anti-rabies vaccination from pet clinics owned by civic bodies with this licence. Currently, these clinics are in Nungambakkam, Meenambakkam, Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar and T Nagar. As per sources, not more than 1500 dogs get licenced a year. This is mostly due to the difficulty in going in person to get this done. The online facility will encourage more pet parents to get a pet licence with no hassle.

The licence will enable the pet parents to get their dogs vaccinated and dewormed. This helps keep a record of the number of dogs licensed and vaccinated. It also serves as a proof for the pet owners in case of any issues in their neighbourhood. Though there is no confirmation on the cost for this, sources say it would be Rs 50 as a fee.

The GCC also says that they could not sterilize stray dogs in the last year due to pandemic. This has spiked their numbers in the city. Owing to this, they are also planning to resume this process to curb their numbers.

However, an important point is that though the online portal is only for registration, the pets will be given a licence only after a thorough check-up. These tests will be conducted across pet clinics set up in 15 zones said, Dr Hussain.

Feature image credits – Kiki