Cows in Jammu get geo-tagged as civic body looks to tackle stray menace

The Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has started geo-tagging of cows to tackle the menace of stray cattle on the city's roads which often leads to traffic congestion and is a major cause of accidents, officials said Wednesday.

The officials said geo-tagging would help them to identify owners of stray cows and penalise them.

"We have started geo-tagging of cattle in the areas falling under the jurisdiction of the JMC and are hopeful of completing the process within next six months to achieve our goal of making the city free from stray cattle menace," Municipal Veterinary Officer, Zaffar Iqbal, told PTI.

He said all 300 dairies in the city and the cattle which are caught roaming freely on the roads would be covered under the drive.

"A 15-digit tag is injected into the skin of the animal near the neck which will help us keep a tap on the animal, besides providing the details of its owner. Once the tagging is done, its owner will be fined if the animal is caught for the second time roaming on the streets and impounded if caught for the third time," the officer said.

He said geo-tagging has no harmful effect on the animals.

"We have started this drive some time back and so far we have tagged over 300 cows in the city. The mass-level tagging covering all the 300 dairies in Jammu will be started in a couple of days and the process is expected to be completed within the next six months," Iqbal said.

He said majority of dairy owners, after milking their cattle, let them free on the streets, resulting in frequent traffic jams and accidents.

The tagging would not only keep the roads free from stray animals, but would also help in checking bovine smuggling, theft of the animals and ownership rights over the animals as sometimes different parties claim the ownership of an animal once picked up by the JMC from the city roads.

He said the JMC will also approach the police against the owner of those animals which are caught for the second time for legal action.

A special drive is already on to pick up stray animals from different areas of the city, he said, adding that the lifted cattle are kept at JMC cattle pound, while those sick or injured are provided treatment at Municipal Animal Care Centre.

Deputy Mayor Purnima Sharma said the corporation is planning to set up its own cow shelter for the impounded animals.

"We are planning to set up a big cow shelter of our own to take care of the impounded animals. It will also help generate employment and revenue for the corporation," she said.