When Paws Meet the Runway: 🐾

Chennai Airport Launches India’s First Humane Dog

Management Program: Chennai’s runways just got a whole lot more compassionate. In a groundbreaking move,

Chennai International Airport has rolled out India’s first-ever humane stray dog management

programme—a shift that blends safety, science, and sensitivity all in one.

If you’re someone who believes in coexistence, this is your kind of revolution.

🐾 The Backstory: Not Just Strays, But Stories

Like every street dog, the ones at Chennai airport didn’t wander there by accident.

Drawn to the food waste or scraps fed by kind-hearted passengers, around 40–50

Community dogs began to frequent the premises over time. But with increasing safety

concerns—bites, tarmac incidents, and confused security staff—airport authorities were

stuck between hard choices.

Luckily, instead of choosing fear, they chose forward-thinking compassion.

🐾The Program That’s Changing Everything

Partnering with People for Animals (PFA), the Airports Authority of India (AAI) kicked off this

new model. But unlike outdated “catch-and-dump” methods, this plan is humane, trackable,

and transparent.

Here’s what they’re doing differently:

● Sterilising and vaccinating all airport community dogs (parvo, rabies, distemper, etc.)

● Trained handlers on rotation 24/7 to monitor and manage dog presence

● Reflective collars and ear-notching to mark dogs already treated

● Feeding stations placed outside high-security zones to keep animals safe — and out

of risky areas

More than 45 dogs have already been treated, tagged, and brought back to their territories.

No relocation, no trauma.

🐾 Why This is a Big Deal

Most public spaces—airports, bus stands, even hospitals—see dogs as a nuisance. But

Chennai is proving something different: you don’t have to remove animals to manage them.

You just have to work with science and empathy in hand.

● Keeps flyers and staff safe

● Respects the rights and lives of stray animals

● Helps create a trackable, data-driven model

● Could become a blueprint for railway stations, hospitals, colleges, and malls all

across India

Imagine what it would mean if every public space treated animals like this—with respect, not

fear.

🐾 What Can We Do as NGOs & Youth Advocates?

If you’re part of the animal welfare space (like us at Animal Says), this moment is powerful. It

shows that compassion can go mainstream.

Here’s how you can build on this:

● Talk to your local municipal bodies—share this model!

● Host college webinars or street campaigns around humane dog management

● Create tracking and mapping tools for your city’s stray dog zones

● Collaborate with airports, bus depots, and even tech parks to create similar systems

Let Chennai be the first, but not the last.

🐾 The Bigger Picture:

Chennai’s airport has done more than sterilise some dogs.

They’ve planted the seed for an entire shift in how our cities treat animals.

Not as problems.

But as part of our community.

Let’s make sure that paw prints always have a place in our cities—and our hearts