CHENNAI: With a lukewarm response to the pet dog microchipping and licensing drive, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will begin a door-to-door survey next week to identify unlicensed dogs across the city.
A senior Corporation official said that many owners had failed to turn up at Animal Birth Control centres for microchipping even after the deadline.
“While 74,000 pet dogs have been licensed so far, over 20,000 owners registered online but did not complete the licensing process. Through the door-to-door survey, we can take the total number of licensed pet dogs in the city to one lakh,” the official said.
The free microchipping and registration drive began on October 8. After multiple extensions from November 23 to December 7, the final deadline to comply without penalty was December 14. Since then, officials have been using RFID scanners to identify unlicensed dogs and impose penalties.
A fine of Rs 5,000 is being levied for keeping an unlicensed dog, while Rs 500 is charged for walking a dog without a leash in public places. Owners who completed online registration but failed to obtain a physical licence are being fined Rs 500.
“From December 13 to February 13, we’ve collected fines totalling Rs 7.1 lakh from 611 individuals across the city,” the official added.