Shimla has launched a "first-of-its-kind" initiative in the country to manage stray dogs, introducing GPS-enabled tracking collars along with a large-scale
vaccination drive. The officials have begun fitting stray dogs in Shimla with GPS-enabled collars carrying QR codes to digitally record their location, vaccination status, and other details, reported ANI. The first phase of the campaign, vaccination and marking of stray dogs, is currently underway, with GPS collar installation set to expand in the second stage, the report said. Mayor Surinder Chauhan said the initiative aims to reduce rabies-related fatalities and improve public safety. He said that Shimla is the "first city in the country" to take such an initiative regarding stray dogs. "Our vaccination and sterilisation drives have been going on for some time. Now, to minimise rabies cases where earlier, deaths were often discovered to have been caused by a dog bite only after the fact, we have started anti-rabies vaccination for dogs. So far, 2,000 dogs have been vaccinated," Mayor Chauhan told ANI. "We are attaching QR code collars that, when scanned, will reveal the dog's position. Dog lovers and animal welfare groups can also track them. For aggressive dogs, we will attach a red tag so they can be identified and handled separately," he said. He said that the authorities are also undertaking awareness campaigns. "We are educating the public, working with social organisations, and starting a massive sterilisation campaign," he added. "This programme will also produce the first dog census in India, digitising details of each stray. Once the programme concludes, the Chief Minister will formally close it." Chauhan added. Shimla MLA Harish Janartha said the city was witnessing a high number of dog bite cases. The initiative began on August 15 and will run till August 19, he said. "I congratulate the Municipal Commissioner and his team for turning this into a practical reality. As of today, 2,011 dogs have been vaccinated and fitted with GPS-linked QR code collars. This will help maintain accurate records and identify aggressive dogs. Sterilisation will follow," said Janrtha. "If this succeeds in Shimla, it should be implemented across all urban local bodies and smaller towns in Himachal," he said. Presently, there has been a widespread debate regarding the handling of stray dogs after the Supreme Court of India directed authorities to shift all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to shelters. The court in its August 11 direction had issued directions for permanent relocation of dogs from streets to shelters. However, the Supreme Court on Friday modified its direction and asked the authorities to release the canines post sterilisation and de-worming. "The dogs that are picked up shall be sterilised, dewormed, vaccinated, and released back to the same area from which they were picked up," a three-judge special bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath and comprising Justices Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria, said. It clarified the relocation should not apply to dogs infected with rabies or suspected to be infected with rabies and those displaying aggression. "A blanket direction to pick up all the strays and place them in dog shelters/pounds without evaluating the existing infrastructure may lead to a catch-22 situation because such directions may be impossible to comply with," the bench said. Municipal authorities were further directed to create dedicated feeding spaces for stray dogs in each municipal ward.
