Pet Registration Delay Raises Safety Concerns in Tiruchirapalli City

Despite growing concern over dog attacks in the city, the proposed online pet registration system in Tiruchirapalli has not yet been implemented. The initiative, launched by the Tiruchi Corporation to regulate pet ownership and monitor domestic animals, especially dogs, remains pending.

Meanwhile, several dog bite incidents have been reported in recent months. In one case, a six-year-old boy was attacked by a pet dog while playing outside his home in the Mela Chinthamani area, sustaining injuries to his hand. These incidents have heightened public fear and highlighted the urgent need for an effective pet management system in urban areas.

Plan Obstructed, But Not put into effect.

Last year, the civic body passed a resolution to enforce the registration of pet dogs to curb the poor ownership of pets, including dumping and non-observance of the regulations of vaccinating the pets. In this respect, the authorities assigned one agency the responsibility of developing a dedicated portal to enable online registration and streamline resident licensing.

It was planned to introduce the system by May 2025. However, the project is not a reality as it has taken an excessively long time to balance the design and the working model of the portal.

The officials claim that some models are being considered at the moment so that the system would not only be user-friendly, but also that no definite structure has been accepted yet.

Major Characteristics of the proposed Pet Registration System.

As per the plan developed by the Corporation, the online portal was to contain the following features:

Pet dogs and cats require compulsory registration.  Registration fee is 300 Rupees for first-time registration and renewal.

Upload of pet details such as:

• Breed
• Age
• Vaccination status
• Medical history, if any
• A recent photograph of the pet
• An internet money transfer service via a special connection.

One-year digital licences of downloadable nature.

The system integrates with the city’s Animal Birth Control (ABC) centers to strengthen data management, on-ground monitoring, inspections, and surveillance.

In accordance with the suggested design:

• The field verification visits were to be made by the corporation officials.
• The domestic comfort of registered pets.
• Adherence to anti-rabies vaccination.
• The information obtained via the portal would help to determine unregistered pets and recidivism.

Simultaneous Attempts to Manage the Population of Stray Dogs.

As the pet registration system is still in waiting, the Corporation has not given up but has stayed busy with controlling the stray dogs in the city. Between April 2023 and January 2026:29,144 street dogs were sterilized.

Around 35,000 dogs received rabies vaccinations.

The authorities insist that such actions are components of a comprehensive approach to the health of the general population, but the citizens and animal welfare organizations have emphasized the importance of ensuring proper control of owning pets.

As the number of pets rises in the city, professionals think that there should be a systematic registration system to:

• Improve public safety
• Ensure animal welfare
• Fix responsibility where there is an incidence of dogbites.
• Encourage good citizenship in keeping pets.
• Increasing Demand for Accountability.

However, because the authorities have not yet implemented the proposed system, the city faces uncertainty in effectively controlling domestic animals and, as a result, preventing unnecessary accidents.

References Link: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/online-pet-registration-system-stalled-despite-dogbite-incidents-in-tiruchi/article70583190.ece/amp/