BBMP set to microchip street dogs in pilot project

Bengaluru: The BBMP is all set to roll out a pilot project that will place microchips in free-roaming street dogs amid apprehensions from animal activists who said it is too "invasive" and a waste of "public money".

Officials from the animal husbandry department of the civic body confirmed the move and claimed that it will help in avoiding revaccinating the same canines multiple times in a year.

The plan, which was announced in February this year and scheduled to cover 1.4 lakh of the 2.79 lakh dogs, will involve 1,000 street dogs across three zones for the pilot, which the BBMP said will cost around Rs 5 lakh.  

The roughly one-inch microchip will be placed in the neck region between the shoulder blades using thick hypodermic needles. The microchip will have a code that can be scanned using a microchip reader, 10 of which will be supplied per zone.

A senior official in the BBMP's animal husbandry department said they "don’t want to vaccinate the same dogs multiple times in a year".

"We have seen this problem with the anti-rabies vaccine. If we want to administer combined vaccines, we need to ensure we don't do that to the same dogs within one year because that can lead to adverse health effects."

The BBMP's decision has caused a stir among animal rights activists, who termed the move "invasive".

But the department pushed back on these claims, saying microchips will have no adverse effects and that it is the "best method" to track the status of their proposed five-in-one combined vaccination programme, rather than applying paint to the dog or using collars.

Vikas Suralkar, BBMP Special Commissioner (Health), said: "Paying heed to animal lovers' concerns, we held a meeting in the presence of experts who tried to convince them that it is doable. Animal lovers are apprehensive but we will make all the data available to the public so it helps in better supervision." 

A senior official noted that the microchips have not been included as part of this year's tenders because of "activist protests".

Apprehensions

Animal rights activist Sujaya Jagadish said the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has not included using microchips in their standard operating procedure for street dog vaccinations or animal birth control measures.

"Many countries have done microchipping for dogs but they are all owned pets that owners wish to track, not free-roaming street dogs. This is an invasive procedure which, if done improperly, can damage the spinal cord or lead to infections," she said.

Additionally, it opens doors for cheating because there is no obvious way to see if a dog has a microchip, she added.

Another activist Neveena Kamath raised the issue of stress because dogs must be caught and restrained. "What if it migrates to another part of the body? Who will monitor their condition after the microchip is implanted? It is simply public money going down the drain," she said.

Highlights - BBMP bets on tech  The one-inch microchip will be placed in the neck region using thick hypodermic needles Microchip will have a code that can be scanned using a microchip reader, 10 of which will be supplied per zone BBMP says they don’t want to vaccinate the same dogs multiple times in a year Activists say invasive procedure which, if done improperly, can damage the spinal cord or lead to infections