Dog bites have become a serious public health problem in Chennai.
The Greater Chennai Corporation does not have exact yearly data, but
officials say that about 30,000 people were treated for dog bites in
government hospitals and health centres in 2024, and more than 25,000
cases have already been reported in 2025. Across Tamil Nadu, dog bite
cases and rabies deaths have been increasing since 2020.
Health department studies show that many pet dogs — often not
vaccinated — cause most of the reported bites. To address this,
officials plan to increase animal birth control, microchip and
vaccinate stray dogs, and strictly enforce pet licensing rules.
They say these steps will also reduce pet abandonment, which often
causes dogs to become stressed in new areas and leads to more attacks.