ID card for dogs: Strays outside India's Mumbai airport get 'Aadhaar' with QR codes

Twenty stray dogs outside India's Mumbai airport have received their identification cards similar to 'Aadhaar', the nation's biometric identification system. According to a report by the Times of India (TOI), the "Aadhaar" cards were strung around the scruff of the dogs' necks last Saturday (July 15). The cards carry QR codes which when scanned provide information about the dogs such as name, a feeder's contact, details of vaccination, sterilisation, and medical nuggets if the canines are lost, the report said. 

The ID cards were provided by a team of regular feeders.

BMC vaccinates the tagged dogs

The team tagged 20 dogs. The report said that during the tagging process, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) managed to vaccinate these dogs outside Terminal-1 of the airport in the west Indian city. Speaking to TOI, Dr Kalim Pathan, the head of BMC's veterinary health services said a basic health check was also done on the dogs. 

"The QR code tagging done for dogs outside the airport is a pilot project and we will see how this can be taken forward," Dr Pathan added. 

The team behind the initiative

Akshay Ridlan, an engineer from Sion, devised the idea of unique identification for dogs through an initiative called pawfriend.in. The report said that dog catchers from Yoda, vets from the BMC, and airport officials were a part of the troupe. 

Speaking to the publication, Ridlan said the team started at around 8.30 am and was chasing the dogs to fix the QR code tags and vaccinate them. Ridlan said that if a pet is lost or is relocated, the QR codes can help reunite it with its family. He added that the codes can also help the BMC maintain a centralised database of stray dogs in Mumbai.