CHENNAI: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has partnered with animal rights organisation People for Animals (PFA) to address the growing menace of stray dogs at Chennai International Airport.
The initiative, launched on Tuesday, is focused on sterilising and vaccinating dogs living in and around the airport premises, while promoting a humane and sustainable model for animal management. Two trained dog handlers have been deployed on-site to monitor canine activity, discourage passengers from feeding the animals, and support the sterilisation programme.
“There are around 50 dogs in the vicinity, and nearly half of them have already been sterilised. We are ensuring the rest of the community dogs are also covered,” said K Ramesh, president of PFA’s Tambaram chapter. Ramesh prefers to refer to these dogs as “community dogs” rather than strays.
Ramesh also noted that unregulated and illegal dog-catching had previously occurred within the airport premises. ”Over the past three to four months, we held discussions with airport authorities and arrived at a proposal focused on sterilisation, vaccination, and responsible management,” he said.
He emphasised that dogs should not be present in passenger movement areas, and advised the public not to feed them. “Once sterilised, the dogs tend to be far less aggressive. So far, we have sterilised five dogs under this programme, and earlier efforts by Blue Cross and AAI had covered another 22 to 25,” Ramesh added.
PFA teams will provide round-the-clock surveillance in rotational shifts, with plans to expand coverage over time. The dogs that have undergone the sterilisation process are marked through ear notching - a standard practice in animal birth control to indicate treated animals.