The barcodes have been nicknamed “Aadhar cards” after the country’s proof of identity system.
Twenty stray dogs that spend their time outside the Mumbai airport have been given QR codes on tags worn around their necks as a part of a new program to boost their safety.
The new program is also meant to help keep track of stray dogs living in and around the city.
The QR codes have been nicknamed Aadhar cards after the proof of identity and address system for humans in the state, run through the Unique Identity Authority of India, which issues a 12-digit individual ID number on behalf of the country’s government.
The program is meant to keep stray dogs safer and to create a centralized system that will track and manage stray dogs in Mumbai. The program has started with twenty dogs that live near the airport. The barcodes are meant to provide useful information that can be helpful if the dog is ever lost from its usual area or if it needs to be relocated for safety reasons.
Scanning the quick response code provides information such as the name of the animal, the contact information of the person or people who feed the dog, its vaccination records, and its sterilization status.
The QR codes are worn around the dog’s necks on secure collars using painstaking efforts.
Since the dogs are strays, it took considerable effort to tag the dogs with the barcodes. The first twenty participating animals were tagged with the help of their regular feeders who are known to those dogs. Still, while those people were used to lure the animals, the dogs still became reticent when unknown individuals approached them to affix the tags. Finally, though, twenty dogs were successfully tagged, each with their own unique barcode.
At the same time, the opportunity was taken to vaccinate the dogs outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Sahar’s terminal 1.
The stray dog QR codes program was spearheaded by Akshay Ridlan, an engineer from Sion, who created the pawfriend.in initiative. His hope is that the barcodes will help to keep stray animals safe and might also assist in reuniting lost pets with their owners. Equally, it will build a centralized location for monitoring strays in Mumbai.
