Pet microchipping in Gurugram on anvil; activists say process futile

Gurugram, December 1

In an initiative to streamline and regulate the pet registration system in the city, the Municipal Corporation, Gurugram (MCG), has decided to implant microchips on pets, making the civic body the first authority in India to do so.

Pet tracking

The microchip will contain the tracking data of the pets and information regarding the owners, who will be issued a pet licence by the agency. Dr Ashish Singla, MCG Chief Medical Officer (CMO)

The MCG has appointed Pet Pulse, a private agency, to digitise and store ownership and vaccination data using microchips.

As part of the plan, the agency will carry out special door-to-door campaigns and organise camps across the city from the first week of December. The agency has also been asked to maintain a database of pets for three years from the commencement of the project.

A special metal locket and pet licence card will be issued in addition to subcutaneously injecting microchips into the animals at the camps. The insertion of microchips, a radio-frequency identification transponder that carries a unique identification number, is common in the West. It is primarily used to help the owners to locate their pets. Microchipping animals is a simple procedure with minimal risks.

MCG Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Ashish Singla said, “The microchip will contain the tracking data of the pets and information regarding the owners, who will be issued a pet licence by the agency. We request the owners and members of the resident welfare associations (RWAs) to come forward and get their pets registered on priority.”

All RWAs have been given forms to be distributed to each pet parent, following which the camps will be organised.

Many pet owners raised their concerns over the MCG’s decision, but the authorities assured them that the procedure was safe.

However, local animal activists say that the process is futile, claiming that it is useful only in countries with the facility of centralised control rooms to track and record the movement of animals.

The activists have demanded a new municipal rule, in line with the Central Act that defines the rights pertaining to pet ownerships.

According to the present MCG rules regarding pet registration, the dogs acquired in areas under the MCG’s jurisdiction on or before April 1 will have to be registered. Besides, those acquired in these areas in the past seven days will also have to be registered.

During the registration, pet parents would be given a metal token with their names and addresses engraved on it. The token shall be fixed on the pet’s collar.