Stray animals get RFId tags in Jammu

Acting on Jammu and Kasahmir High Court directives, the Jammu Municipal Corporation has begun implanting stray animals and dairy cattle with radio frequency identification tags to rid the state's winter capital of their menace.

"We have launched the Radio Frequency Identification tagging drive for stray and dairy cattle in the municipal limits of the city," JMC's Veterinary Officer Zafar Iqbal told PTI Wednesday.

The project was launched last week and we have already tagged quite a few cattle, said Dr Iqbal.

"We are facing some software hitches in tagging. Once this problem is overcome, all stray animals numbering over 300 will be tagged with RFID system," he said.

The step has been taken by the JMC as per the directions of the J&K High Court to deal with the menace of stray cattle on roads, often causing traffic snarls and accident.

The city approximately has 300 to 400 stray animals.

Manager Rahul Sarkar of ID Tech Solution Pvt Ltd, which is the technical partner of the municipal corporation in the drive, explained the benefits of RFID tagging system.

"This RFID is injected under the skin of the animal, which is later identified with the help of a reader," Sarkar said.

He also demonstrated the RFID tagging of stray cattle.

He said through this system, JMC would be able to manage the menace of stray animals on roads and can even prevent their theft and smuggling.

"By the RFID system we reduce the labour cost by accurate traceability of the animals," Sarkar said.

Additionally, this system can also keep records of vaccination and other medicines given to the animals and provide the information about them when needed, he added.

"It will also benefit various city dairies by linking RFID data with other records like body weight, genetics, health condition of animals," Dr Zafar said.

JMC has made it mandatory for the registration of diary cattle in Jammu city.

"RFID tag is mandatory for registration of the dairy units in the JMC limits", Dr Jafar added.