Is your dog licensed? Do it if not
Posted on: 01/Mar/2016 10:36:34 AM
Is your dog licensed? You perhaps are surprised at this question, but there`s nothing to worry. There are many in the same state as you. Most of the dog owners fail to be aware of the fact that the Chennai corporation has mandated license for pet dogs.
A few pet animals such as cats do not need license as they are not harmful to others. There has been a continual dip in the number of people who seek for the document.
There were 1643 licensed pet dogs in the city in the year 2012-13, it declined to 1569 in 2013-14 which further declined to 1457 in 2014-15. A charge of Rs 50 is applicable for obtaining a dog license for one year. In spite of this license being mandatory, there is no provision for the owners to get penalized.
The owner stands responsible of licensing their dog. Even at the time of renewal of license, the dog gets immunized for free, states a senior official at the corporation. According to the Madras City Municipal Corporation Act of 1919, street dogs that are not licensed were caught and killed, but this was later repealed.
The licence rule, however, continues. As per the dog census conducted by the corporation in 2014, the city`s stray dog population was 82,458. There is no record on the pet dog population in the city, but officials say it would be more than 1 lakh.
According to the vice chairman off Animal Welfare Board of India, S Chinny Krishnan, all pet owners ought to get their dogs licensed. It is possible to get the license online in New Delhi and Mumbai. This also aids in keeping track of the total number of dogs that are vaccinated for anti-rabies.
