CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is set to complete the microchipping of all joyride horses in Chennai within a week. Officials are currently in discussions with the Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board (TNAWB) to finalise the implementation strategy for this initiative.
The TNAWB veterinary team is all set to conduct the sensitisation programme and start the registration on Tuesday (March 10).
Following the microchipping of stray dogs and cattle, the GCC adopted a resolution in the recently concluded council meeting to regulate horse rides along Marina, Besant Nagar, and other beaches by mandating horse licenses and asking owners to microchip and vaccinate their horses. Earlier, the TNAWB had asked local bodies to ensure compliance and restricted the rules for working horses and other equines, mandating registration, microchipping, veterinary certification and work-hour restrictions. Horse owners must obtain a licence from the Corporation and register with TNAWB.
A Corporation official said, “Preliminary discussions with TNAWB for microchipping for joyriding horses were completed a few days ago. The next round meeting will be held this week on how to take forward the initiative.”
“As per the TNAWB data, there are 300 joy ride horses in the city; it would take just a week to microchip all the horses in Chennai. The microchips are ready with us; mostly, we visit the horses at their sheds and microchip them,” added the civic officials.
GCC resolution said that horse rides are banned during peak heat hours, specifically between 10 am and 4 pm, to prioritise the horses’ welfare. “Further, owners provide stables with a minimum of 144 square feet per horse, along with consistent access to adequate feed, shelter, and clean drinking water. All owners must obtain a formal license by March 28. From the following day, unlicensed horses will be prohibited from operating,” said the resolution.
An official in the TNAWB said, “On Friday, a veterinary team inspected the horses in several locations in Triplicane and in the Lighthouse areas, and explained to owners about the sensitisation process. A sensitisation camp will be conducted onTuesday for the owners.”