Chennai Completes Anti-Rabies Drive Covering 1.47 Lakh Stray Dogs
The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has completed a large-scale anti-rabies vaccination drive, immunising 1.47 lakh stray dogs across all 15 zones of the city. The 175-day, launched in August 2025 by Mayor R. Priya, achieved around 81% coverage, exceeding the 70% benchmark recommended by the World Health Organisation for effective rabies control.
Despite the success of the vaccination campaign, residents in parts of north Chennai have reported frequent dog bite incidents in recent weeks. Civic activists and residents’ welfare associations have urged the corporation to intensify Animal Birth Control (ABC) programmes to better manage the growing stray dog population.
GCC officials said wide variations were seen in zone-wise coverage and admitted that dog catching remains a challenge. To strengthen population control efforts, the corporation plans to inaugurate new ABC centres in Tiruvottiyur and Madhavaram by the end of this month.
