Stray dogs get micro-chips as part of pilot study

NT Correspondent: Bengaluru In a bid to track stray dogs in the city, the Health and Welfare department of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) conducted a pilot study with microchips attached to stray dogs at Malleswaram and Mathikere on Saturday. This comes in the wake of deaths involving stray dogs, notably the death of a 76-year-old woman at IAF, Jalahalli. The microchip is made by Biz Orbit Technologies. It will help track the dog’s location and its vaccination and sterilisation status. It is as big as a rice grain and will be injected into the dog’s skin without any side effects.

BBMP Special Commissioner (Health and Animal Husbandry) Suralkar Vikas Kishore inspected the work and said that if the pilot project is successful, it may be implemented in all the zones. He also told reporters that an integrated vaccination program will run in tandem with the implementation of the microchip system. At present, vaccinated dogs are identified by a colour applied to them which wears off in a week, resulting in repeated vaccinations. The microchip helps stop this shortcoming and prevents repeated vaccinations.