Target: Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Goal: Guarantee humane, transparent, medically supervised sterilisation and mass anti-rabies vaccination with public reporting and strict cruelty safeguards.
Tamil Nadu has announced a large-scale sterilisation and vaccination drive led by new district animal welfare officers and veterinary surgeons. This programme could prevent rabies outbreaks and reduce conflict in communities if delivered with compassion and science. Past festival periods have seen frightened animals hurt and some local ABC efforts elsewhere in India have used rough handling or poor post-operative care. Tamil Nadu’s plan must avoid such mistakes and set a welfare benchmark.
Rescue groups during loud celebrations have described panicked dogs running into traffic and abuse cases involving fireworks. Transporting community dogs long distances can also cause stress if kenneling, hydration, and temperature control fall short. Without clear standards, independent audits, and open data, large programmes risk uneven quality and alleged lapses that erode public trust.
A humane rollout demands veterinary-led anaesthesia protocols, pain relief, safe handling, microchipping with RFID, and documented post-op recovery. Public dashboards should show numbers sterilised and vaccinated by district, surgical outcomes, sterilisation coverage targets, and complaint resolution. Hotline access for feeders and residents will speed help for injured animals. Clear penalties must apply for any cruelty during capture or surgery. Tamil Nadu can pair disease control with compassion by adopting these safeguards now and publishing monthly progress.
PETITION LETTER:
Principal Secretary,
Tamil Nadu’s statewide ABC and anti-rabies plan can save lives and lower conflict if every step follows humane, science-based standards. Festival seasons have seen spikes in animal distress. These risks call for clear rules and strong oversight.
We urge your department to mandate veterinary-led SOPs for sedation, analgesia, asepsis, hydration, thermal care, and transport time limits. Please require microchipping of every sterilised and vaccinated dog, and create a public dashboard that shows district-wise numbers, coverage, surgical outcomes, and grievance redress. Independent audits by government veterinarians and accredited NGOs should verify compliance. A 24×7 helpline will let citizens and community feeders report injured animals or lapses fast.
We also ask for penalties for any cruelty during capture or surgery, training for all field teams, and calm-housing for post-op recovery. Setting monthly coverage targets for vaccination and sterilisation will help end rabies with transparency. With these measures, Tamil Nadu can protect public health and treat community animals with dignity.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Sukumaran sundar
