Pet owners in Abu Dhabi are being urged to register their cats and dogs in a government effort to cut the numbers of abandonments and better protect the health of the emirate's animal population.
Residents are required to register pets under the mandatory Animal Owner System – which comes into effect on Tuesday, February 3 – with veterinary clinics across the capital.
Registration is free, but fines of up to Dh1,000 will be imposed for people who fail to comply with the new measures, which apply only to cats and dogs.
The scheme was unveiled in February 2025 by Abu Dhabi Department for Municipalities and Transport. Pet owners have been granted a grace period of one year to sign up, and pet shops and animal shelters have been allowed six months to register.
How do you register?
Pet owners should visit a licensed veterinary clinic and provide the microchip details and pet passport of their cat or dog.
Registration is then processed through the Family Space section of the Abu Dhabi government services app, Tamm.
Authorities said fines of Dh1,000 will be levied for failing to register in the system, while Dh500 penalties will be given for those who fail to renew registrations.
Boosting animal welfare
Training on the process has been given to clinics by the Abu Dhabi Department for Municipalities and Transport.
Many countries have mandatory pet registration and a similar scheme is up and running in Dubai. Those working in the animal care industry have been calling for the step to be taken in Abu Dhabi for some time.
In October 2023, more than 150 cats were dumped in Al Falah desert area in Abu Dhabi. Some were strays, but others were pets mistakenly rounded up by pest control. About 62 of the cats died, and the Department of Municipalities and Transport opened an investigation. Since then, animal welfare experts have called for mandatory registration to make it easier to track lost animals.
Nora Shackleford, clinical manager at the German Veterinary Clinic in Abu Dhabi, told The National last year that the move was an important step in monitoring the animal population and ensuring pet owners can be reunited with pets more easily should they go missing.
“One of the biggest impacts this will have is helping owners and pets to be easily reunited, which we deal with a lot,” she told The National.
“If missing pets are not microchipped or not registered anywhere, it can be almost impossible to put people back in touch with their pet.
“This is unifying all the pet owners, pet shops and veterinary clinics across Abu Dhabi – so it’s a great initiative.”
