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Over a year, aggressive campaign & deadline extensions but only 55 pc pet dogs registered in Ahmedabad city
Officials cite lack of awareness as reason for low number, but data points finger at increased fee from Rs 200 to Rs 2000
Over 19,000 pet dogs have been registered in Ahmedabad, about half the estimated total, as AMC extended the deadline to March 31, 2026 with a higher fee. (Photo: Freepik)
Owing to an aggressive campaign launched by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), over 19,000 pet dogs have been registered in the city, but this number is just 50-55 per cent of the total pet dogs in the corporation limits, the official data suggests.
The deadline of the registration campaign, launched on January 1,2025, has been further extended by three months, till March 31,2026, however, with a 10-fold increase in the registration fee – from Rs 200 to Rs 2,000.
According to the data maintained by the Cattle Nuisance Control Department (CNCD) of the AMC, 19,029 pet dogs have been registered in the city against 16,726 pet owners, till January 22, 2026.
“Our earlier estimates suggest that there were around 50,000-60,000 pet dogs in the city. However, after a preliminary survey and several meetings and consultations with the veterinary doctors, we have concluded this number to be around 30,000-35,000. Going by this estimate, the registration is nearly 55 per cent,” CNCD’s Head of Department (HoD) Naresh Rajput told The Indian Express.
Officials cited lack of awareness among people on the need to register their pet dogs as one of the major reasons behind the “low number”.
“It is the lack of awareness and willingness towards registering their pet dogs. We have undertaken massive advertising campaigns on social media, LED screens across the city, through newspapers but residents, majorly from the western parts of the city, are not coming forward to register their pet dogs,” Rajput added.
Also, help desks have been set up at pet clinics for registration and private veterinary doctors were roped in.
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The AMC had even announced that pet crematorium would be allowed to only those owners who have registered their dogs. However, this initiative too seemed to have not achieved its purpose as many owners feel that they can register their pets once they will avail the services, officials stated.
However, Rajput did not rule out the increased registration fee as a possible reason for slow registrations.
The official data also support this. The registration fee of Rs 200 was charged till May 31, 2025, the period when the highest number of registrations were recorded – 16,580 pet dogs.
From June 1 till July 31, it was increased to Rs 500 followed by Rs 1,000 till September 30. Since October 1,2025, it was Rs 2000 – the period when nearly 400 pet dogs have been registered till January 22,2026.
Labrador the top favourite
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The highest number of pet dogs of a particular breed registered in the city are labradors. A total of 3,563 labradors have been registered followed by 1,359 German shepherds, Shih Tzu (1287), golden retriever (1230).
West zone highest pet dogs
From among over 19,000 pet dogs in Ahmedabad city, 4,808 against 4,213 owners are in the west zone alone. The north west zone has the second highest pet dogs (3,905) of 3,404 owners. The least number is in the central zone where only 761 pet dogs are registered by 683 owners.
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