The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has announced a new regulation that could change the way residents live with their four-legged flat-mates – less free-roaming, more fine print.
Starting January 10, 2026, all dogs and cats will need to be microchipped and officially registered within 120 days of birth or a month from the day they become yours, whichever comes first.
The city isn’t merely cracking down on paperwork for the sake of it. The move, BMA insists, is a response to the ever-growing stray animal population, whose ranks swell with each abandoned litter and impulse adoption gone sour.
The regulation goes further, introducing a pet quota system based on square footage where you reside. Box size condo’s will have a 1 pet limit.
The logic, according to officials, is one of public health and neighborly consideration: fewer animals mean fewer messes on pavements and less nightly howling.
The new rule won’t apply retroactively.
Owners of pit bulls, rottweilers and other large dogs will need to alert district offices and comply with additional measures, including mandatory muzzles and leads no longer than a meter in public.
‘Economic animals’ – a term that places cows and ducks into the same existential bracket – will be restricted to designated agricultural areas.
Fines or visits from uniformed inspectors may eventually follow the program roll-out.