The Indian Express 03.09.2012
Stray animals in Pimpri to be ‘microchipped’
The microchip can store details of the animal like breed, age,
history of illnesses, vaccination, address of owner and relevant data
Stray animals rounded up by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal
Corporation (PCMC) will not be released to the owners who later claim
them unless a microchip is installed giving details of the animal and
the address of the owner, as per a proposal approved by Municipal
Commissioner Dr Shrikar Pardeshi. The proposal would soon be placed
before the civic standing committee to decide the budget.
PCMC veterinary chief Dr Satish Gore on Sunday said strays seized
and kept in the animal pound will be installed the microchips. “This
will help us identify the owner. After a stray is seized, the owner
comes to us for its release. We will not release the animal unless we
install a microchip on it,” he said. The microchip is installed under
the skin on the legs. “It is not visible and does not hurt the animal,”
he said.
Officials said the microchip contains a barcode that can store
details of the animal like breed, age, history of illnesses,
vaccination, address of owner and relevant data. “The barcode details
would be fed into our database. The animal will have a number up to 15
digits that cannot be changed and would therefore help us identity its
owner,” Dr Gore said.
Dr Gore said initially the scheme would be for strays. “But
owners of pets can also get the micrcochips installed. The scheme will
be optional for them,” he said. Dr Gore said PCMC will charge Rs 300 for
installation of a microchip. In fact, he said, they were planning to
make the scheme part of the licence procedure for pet owners. “After the
scheme is started, we would later plan to make it part of the licence.
Instead of pet owners paying Rs 75 as licence renewal fee, they can pay
Rs 375 and get the microchip installed,” he said.
The veterinary departmentsaid once the standing committee decides the budget for the scheme, they
would decide the future course. This is the second major step by the
PCMC veterinary department after it set up the pet cemetery at
Nehrunagar a few years back. The pet cemetery turned out to be the only
of its kind set up by a civic body in the country, officials said.
