As a step towards eradicating dog-borne rabies, the veterinary department of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is expected to start using reflective collars with geo-tagged QR codes on the dog population.
These unique collars with geotagged QR codes can be used on both pets and stray dogs, officials said.
The Veterinary Authority has begun preparing a proposal to introduce these reflective collars for dogs, which will be attached around the neck with an individual ID and will contain information about their breed, vaccination and sterilization status, as well as the contact details of the feeder or owner.
Dr Sarika Funde, chief veterinarian of PMC, said that under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme, the stray dogs are fitted with a collar after vaccination and sterilization and a notch is made on their ears to identify the strays.
“The regular belt can be replaced with these reflective belts that have a geotag with QR code function. When the code is scanned remotely using either a mobile QR code scanner or special scanning cameras, it provides all the relevant information about a stray,” she said.
The city administration has started talks with private companies in this regard. Mobile-compatible software will be used for the belts.
This collar can be given to the animal’s owners when registering or renewing the dog’s license. If a dog goes missing, the geotag can help track the missing animal’s location, officials said.
Dr Funde said a proposal for the reflective collars with geo-tagged QR codes would be submitted to the Municipal Commissioner PMC. After his approval, the initiative for dogs in the city can be started.’
According to officials, PMC has temporarily put on hold its previous plan to implant microchips into the stray population due to financial constraints. The new project of reflective collars with geo-tagged QR codes is expected to be more financially viable compared to microchipping.
According to the latest stray dog census conducted by the municipal corporation in May 2023, the estimated dog (stray) population within PMC limits is 179,940.
