Chennai, June 22:
The Greater Chennai Corporation has significantly strengthened its public health and animal welfare efforts by vaccinating around 1.68 lakh street dogs against rabies across the city. This large-scale campaign is aimed at reducing the risk of rabies transmission and ensuring safer urban environments for residents.
In addition to vaccinating stray dogs, the Corporation has also taken steps to regulate pet ownership by issuing licenses and implanting microchips in 71,388 pet animals. This initiative improves identification, tracking, and monitoring of pets, making it easier to manage lost animals and enforce responsible ownership among citizens.
The civic body is also actively addressing the stray dog population through humane measures. Approximately 200 street dogs are being sterilized every day as part of an ongoing animal birth control programme. These efforts are designed to gradually reduce the stray population while maintaining ethical standards of animal care.
To further enhance its capacity, the Corporation is working on establishing four new animal birth control and sterilization centres in Chennai. Once completed, these facilities are expected to strengthen the city’s ability to manage stray animals effectively, while promoting better public health and animal welfare practices.