Chennai Corporation mandates pet microchipping

Pet animal micro chipping has been made mandatory by Chennai Corporation along with licensing as Council passes resolution in Council meeting on Thursday. Microchipping will be available at Corporation, state, university, and private veterinary hospitals, Corporation announced. According to the GCC, required pet details include name, species, breed, color, sex, age, vaccination dates, and the ICAR-approved microchip number. Owner data (name, address, phone) will also be collected. A dedicated software application will be developed to manage this data, ensuring annual rabies vaccinations and enabling action against pet abandonment. The Animal Husbandry Department recommended implementation. The Corporation will invite limited e-tenders to develop and integrate the new system with its existing online pet license platform to collect all pet and owner details and will be accessible via a dedicated app, the Corporation stated. Low participation in the previous system led to the launch of an online system in August 2023, which has since issued 9,151 licenses; a 2023 survey estimated 180,157 street dogs, but the pet dog population remains unknown, according to GCC.