Pune, 26 November 2025: The Pune Municipal Corporation’s veterinary department has launched a pilot project to implant smart RFID microchips in stray dogs, aiming to create a digital, one-click database of each animal. The system is designed to store details such as a dog’s colour, age, gender, movement, vaccination records and sterilisation status.
The city has an estimated stray dog population of around 2.25 lakh, making tracking and maintaining health records difficult for the corporation. Earlier, the civic body explored using collar belts with embedded chips, but stray dogs frequently tore them off, forcing officials to abandon that plan.
Under the new method, a rice-grain-sized RFID microchip is injected beneath the skin on the upper part of the dog’s neck. Each chip carries a unique 15-digit ID number that can be scanned and updated through a mobile application. A private company is carrying out the implant procedure on a trial basis.
So far, 15 dogs have been microchipped out of the targeted 600 selected for the trial phase. After one and a half months, the civic team will conduct a follow-up survey to check whether the dogs experience any complications and to verify if the microchips continue to function as expected.
Dr. Sarika Funde, head of PMC’s veterinary department, said the project will only be expanded if the initial results are positive. She added that the microchips allow officials to record complete information about each stray and track their movements when required.
If successful, the initiative will help Pune maintain an accurate digital registry of stray dogs, streamline vaccination and sterilisation records, and improve overall monitoring across the city.