The facility is located inside the Birds and Pets Market and is designed to provide a safe, humane environment for stray, abandoned and lost companion animals. It also gives prospective adopters access to verified information about each animal before they visit the shelter or begin an application.
Animals placed for adoption undergo veterinary assessment and receive the required care before being matched with suitable households. Their online profiles include health and behavioural details, helping families consider temperament, medical needs and living requirements rather than selecting a pet solely by appearance.
The municipality’s adoption service is free. Animals are vaccinated, sterilised where appropriate and registered before being handed to their new owners. Identification documents accompanying adopted pets serve as a health and registration record, sometimes described by residents as a pet passport.
The digital platform allows users to browse available animals remotely and review their individual profiles. The system is intended to simplify adoption, reduce unnecessary shelter visits and give residents more time to assess whether they can meet an animal’s long-term needs.
Prospective owners can later meet their chosen animal in dedicated viewing areas at the shelter. Interactive adoption rooms provide a controlled setting where families can observe behaviour and establish whether the animal is comfortable around adults, children or other household members.
The shelter includes a fully equipped veterinary clinic, a surgical operating theatre fitted with advanced veterinary technology and a grooming unit. It also has reception and rehabilitation areas for animals collected from streets or public spaces.
A separate service will help reunite lost pets with their owners after identity and ownership records have been checked. Microchips and municipal registration details can play a central role in establishing ownership and returning animals safely.
Dubai Municipality has signed agreements with Vets Fur Pets Veterinary Clinic and Phoenix Veterinary Clinic to strengthen treatment for injured or seriously ill stray animals. The partnerships cover emergency care, rehabilitation, professional training and the exchange of veterinary expertise.
The agreements also support awareness campaigns on responsible ownership and humane population management. Education is expected to be a significant part of the programme because abandonment, uncontrolled breeding and poorly planned purchases continue to place pressure on rescue groups and veterinary services.
Municipal teams will continue using Trap-Neuter-Return programmes for community cats. Under the system, animals are humanely captured, sterilised and returned to their original areas when doing so presents no danger to the animal or the public.
Vaccination can be added before release when required. The broader Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return approach seeks to control population growth while reducing the spread of infectious diseases and avoiding indiscriminate removal of healthy community animals.
Stray dogs and cats requiring treatment may instead be transferred for veterinary care and rehabilitation. Animals considered suitable for domestic life can be prepared for adoption rather than returned to the locations where they were found.
Dr Naseem Mohammed Rafei, acting chief executive of the Environment, Health and Safety Agency at Dubai Municipality, said the shelter represented an important step in developing the emirate’s public health and veterinary services.
She said the facility would support efficient and proactive services while protecting animal welfare and improving quality of life. The programme follows the One Health approach, which recognises that human health, animal health and environmental conditions are closely connected.
The shelter forms part of a wider effort to manage companion animals through organised public services rather than fragmented interventions. It also supports the Civility Committee for Preserving Dubai’s Urban Appearance, linking animal welfare with cleanliness, public safety and responsible community behaviour.
Earlier this year, the municipality deployed 12 artificial intelligence-powered Ihsan feeding stations at several locations across Dubai. The units identify stray animals, collect relevant data and dispense food in a controlled manner.
The stations were introduced to discourage random feeding, which can leave waste in public areas, attract pests and make it harder to assess community animal populations. Data gathered through the initiative can help authorities plan feeding, sterilisation and veterinary interventions more systematically.
The Birds and Pets Market in Warsan is Dubai’s largest facility of its kind. The wider complex includes pet shops, veterinary services, quarantine areas, animal accommodation and supporting infrastructure, allowing the new shelter to operate within an established animal-care centre.
Follow Arabian Post
Select Arabian Post as your preferred source on Google and MSN News for trusted business news and Arab politics and updates.
