Bengaluru’s shelved stray dog microchipping plan back on track

The stray dog microchipping initiative, which had been put on the back burner, is back on track, with the Union Ministry of Animal Husbandry directing municipal corporations to implant radio frequency identification (RFID) tags during animal birth control (ABC) surgeries. The direction follows a decision to maintain data on ABC centres and surgeries undertaken by States and to steadily review the progress of the programme. Now, not just Bengaluru, but other urban local bodies in Karnataka too will have to take up the initiative, as the directive has been issued by the Central Government. Centre’s directions According to the documents of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying reviewed by The Hindu, the ABC project-in-charge will have to register all ABC centres across their jurisdiction on the Bharat Pashudhan portal, and also geotag them. Further, the centres will be equipped to update dog sterilisation data on the portal. A Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) source explained that for updating the data, the department has drafted a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which mandates implanting RFID tags (microchips) immediately after surgery. The document noted that after a dog recovers from the surgical wound, the microchip in the canine will be scanned, generating a unique ID that will be uploaded to the Bharat Pashudhan portal. The particular ID will contain details such as vaccination records, the place where the dog was picked up, surgery details, and also a photograph. Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh has written to the Urban Development Department (UDD) to ensure compliance with the SOP aimed at stray animal management. Upon complying with the directions, the corporations will be eligible to receive special assistance for capital investment from the Centre towards establishing ABC centres, and covering the cost of sterilisation. Not new to Bengaluru The initiative, however, is not new to the city, as the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had planned microchipping at least two years ago and had also piloted a study. The initiative did not sit well with animal rights activists, who cited potential harm to stray dogs and moved court. The matter is sub-judice. Despite this, the BBMP floated tenders thrice in the past, but failed to attract bidders on two occasions, while on the third occasion, the BBMP dropped the contractor, as the latter could not provide sufficient resources needed for implementation. Yet, the initiative was never dropped, as the BBMP saw it as a flagship programme and was determined to implement it. However, interest fizzled out after the new corporations were formed. Now that the Centre has given directions, the corporations are ready to decide how to proceed. How is it different? When the project was planned by the BBMP, the issue was that there was a single contract for the entire city, which meant immense pressure on the contractor. Now, the corporations will have two options: if they plan small-scale procurement and the cost is below ₹5 lakh, they can independently purchase the required devices and continue the project. If the estimated cost exceeds ₹5 lakh, the corporations will float tenders, but the pressure on the contractor will be lower as the area covered will be smaller. Under the earlier plan, the BBMP had to capture stray dogs separately for implantation before releasing them back. Now, the need for separately capturing stray dogs will be eliminated, as microchipping will be carried out during the ABC surgery itself. Bengaluru currently has eight ABC centers (one for each of the earlier BBMP zones), and the work has been contracted to five NGOs.