It might not be rare for you to find a puppy or a kitten abandoned on the pavement or under a parked car. Pets are tied up to the shelter gates, some are thrown over the walls of rehabilitation centres, and some are left in faraway places, making their return almost untraceable. What follows these harrowing instances are even more pathetic — some die of life-threatening illnesses, many struggle to restart a life, and many others are prey to unethical breeding. Either way, the brunt is always borne by these innocuous animals who cannot fend for themselves.
The issue of pet abandonment has always been a prevalent menace in the city. While many self-proclaimed pet lovers speak of their unconditional affection for animals, that devotion often becomes conditional based on breed, size, colour, and perceived utility. Animal rights activists, welfare advocates, and pet parents share their observations of such hypocritical actions. The preference in breeds, they say, snowballs into many bigger issues. Foreign breeds such as Labradors, German Shepherds, Pugs, and Huskies are often chosen for their appearance or function, but the aftermath of these adoptions is extremely heinous.
Sumita Pai, an animal rights activist, notes that it’s the lack of long-term commitments that leads to such abandonment. Emphasising that animals should exist just the way humans do, she says, “People who buy these breeds are from a certain strata of society, and animals are more like status symbols or guard animals.” She points out a common issue — a lack of emotional connection between the pet parents and the pets. After they are bought, the pets are usually handled by helpers or watchmen, who have very little agency when it comes to decisions of keeping them or abandoning them. These breeds that cannot ideally acclimatise to the weather conditions need to be provided with the required temperature, suitable food, and other medical amenities, and later, become a burden for many. The health hazards inflicted on the breed dogs are mostly because of the artificial environment that is created, which leads to issues like arthritis, obesity, and kidney- and liver-related ailments, Sumita explains. When such issues escalates, pet owners opt to leave them on the streets. As someone who has been rescuing animals for decades, she says that these high-maintenance breed dogs — from Pomeranians, Huskies, Labradors, Golden retrievers, Lhasa Apso, to Terriers — are all abandoned with complete impunity.
Against this backdrop of chronic abandonment, the Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) microchipping initiative positions itself as a solution aimed at accountability. By registering pets and enabling tracking, the policy seeks to link animals to their owners. The GCC mandated microchipping and licensing for pet dogs and cats within city limits through a resolution passed on January 30, 2025. The deadline for pet owners to microchip was till December 14, 2025. Sumita and animal welfare activist Sudha Muthuvel voice out that when such initiatives become a compulsion and come with stringent deadlines and the burden of penalty, the pet abandonment issue isn’t tackled, and there is a rise.
A right solution?
Sudha observes that the extra burden of penalty of `5,000 for non-compliance has led to more cases of abandonment. Many pet parents haven’t even sterilised or vaccinated their pets, and when they abandon them, they are more susceptible to infections. She stresses that while many countries have successfully implemented microchipping, the lack of planning echoes louder here. Concurring, Sumita says, “If the purpose was to curtail pet abandonment, they should have given ample time to register their pets, and they should have explained the process properly. There have been massive issues with microchipping because implants weren’t done properly, and pets have died. The size of the microchip should pertain to the size of the animal.” She further continues, “It is about statistics and not doing it properly. Tenders have been procured for lakhs of vaccination and microchips.”
Closely monitoring the GCC’s microchipping initiative, Sudha emphasises that GCC veterinary doctors have charged Rs 1,500- Rs 2,000 by going to houses to provide the service, whereas private clinics have charged somewhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000. What underlies is a problem bigger than financial distress. Microchipping, in many cases, despite being considered safe, has turned out to be fatal. A background medical check-up and recording the health history of the pets before microchipping were barely considered important by the doctors; there were also many cases of improper implants leading to serious health complications and deaths of animals. Maheswari Umamaheswaran, a pet parent, recalls a scarring experience of losing her pet soon after microchipping. She says, “The veterinarian had stated the reason for the death was a heart attack. But we were not informed of the health-related threat.” She points out that negligence and procedures done in haste had led to such a tragedy.
Sudha mentions another instance where a pet was microchipped despite being diagnosed with a tick fever and low platelet count. Within a short time, the dog collapsed and lost kidney function. She explains, “Microchips can migrate inside the body of the animals; if it reaches the vertebral column, the hind limbs or even forelimbs get paralysed.” In an effort to complete the procedures, pet parents weren’t provided with enough information to be able to make an informed decision.
While this has been the case with breed dogs, many community/ street dogs have been microchipped, too, which activists have objected. While some have feeders and caretakers, many don’t. Sudha stresses that microchipping wouldn’t stop the problem of their relocation, and in case of any health hazard, the brunt would be borne by the feeders or the rescuers.
Breeding atrocities
There is a surge in unethical breeders in the city, which has significantly contributed to the pet abandonment issue. Quite often, the health of the animals is overlooked, and they are bred continuously for profit. While doing so, animals that are fragile and sick end up being deserted. When the breeders can no longer make money from the animals, both mothers and the puppies are left stranded on the streets. Sudha points out that many backyard breeders have evaded the microchipping by leaving them on the streets, which are otherwise caged and often kept in unkempt surroundings. She says, “I have monitored the GCC pounds. They [the GCC dog catchers] pick these abandoned dogs, cage them. I have seen the dogs die. Chippiparai is a tall breed; one such dog had been crouching there for about 30 days. They don’t give the dogs to us [animal rescuers]. It’s a very lengthy procedure. We have to run from pillar to post, then get approval from TNAWB (Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board) and GCC, even to rescue a dog from GCC’s hands.” Sudha laments that she has been fighting against such hostile treatments and killings by GCC for almost five years, but she couldn’t do much.
On the follow-ups of microchipping, Sudha says, “GCC is supposed to maintain a good database. They should have a database maintaining the 16-digit number, contact details, address, age, health status, and number of vaccinations the pet has had.” But she says that they haven’t got the complete database built yet. Though microchipping has been done for a limited number of animals, the follow-ups are uncertain. While some parents had to continuously visit clinics for registration, some couldn’t continue the microchipping because of technical errors, such as details not being recorded.
There are many questions still left unanswered. Expressing concern, Sumita says, “If the initiative is in the best interest of pets or pet parents, there should have been a portal that works seamlessly well, that has been time-tested.”
Curse of the industry
Maheswari, who has been parenting a bunch of pets for more than a decade, also stresses on the pet industry that has been sprawling in every nook and corner of the streets — the soaring packed food industry, the rising number of pet clinics, and the expensive treatments — lead to the vicious cycle of skyrocketing expenses, leading to more abandonment than ever before. She says tablets for tick fever cost somewhere near Rs 2,000, shampoos can also trigger allergies in animals, and continue the chain reaction. For illnesses like canine distemper, doctors either suggest putting the dogs down or going for higher treatments. This poses the question — how many can actually afford such expenses?