Shimla, August 24: The Shimla Municipal Corporation has launched a first-of-its-kind initiative to track stray dogs in the city. The civic body reportedly uses GPS-enabled collars with QR codes to record the location, vaccination status, and other details of stray dogs in Shimla. This comes amid SMC's ongoing anti-rabies vaccination drive and sterilisation campaigns to prevent human-dog conflicts.

This comes a day after the Supreme Court on Friday, August 22, modified its earlier order of August 11 regarding managing stray dogs in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). The top court said the animals will be released back into the same area after sterilisation and immunisation. However, the court clarified that stray dogs infected with rabies or showing aggressive behaviour will not be released back and will be kept separately. Stray Dogs To Be Released After Sterilisation, Public Feeding Banned: Supreme Court Modifies Previous Order, Directs MCD To Set Up Dedicated Feeding Zones.

Nearly 2,000 Stray Dogs Vaccinated So Far in Shimla

Surinder Chauhan, Mayor of Shimla, said the initiative aims to reduce rabies-related fatalities and improve public safety. Speaking to news agency ANI, Surinder Chauhan said that their vaccination and sterilisation drives have been going on for some time. "Now, to minimise rabies cases where earlier, deaths were often discovered to have been caused by a dog bite only after the fact, we have started anti-rabies vaccination for dogs."

The mayor further revealed that 2,000 canines have been vaccinated so far. "Alongside, we are attaching QR code collars that, when scanned, will reveal the dog's position. Dog lovers and animal welfare groups can also track them," he added. Surinder Chauhan also said they will attach a red tag for aggressive dogs to identify and handle them separately. He also said that the civic body is educating the public, working with social organisations, and even starting a massive sterilisation campaign.

Programme Aims to Produce First Dog Census in Country

Shimla's mayor also said that the initiative would help them produce the first dog census in India, thereby digitising the details of each stray. Chauhan said that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu will formally close the initiative once the programme concludes. Harish Janartha, MLA of Shimla, said that the city witnessed many dog bite cases. He also noted there are 4,000-4,500 stray dogs in Shimla's 34 wards. Dog Attack in Madhya Pradesh: 10-Year-Old Girl Returning From Grocery Store Attacked by Stray Dogs in Khargone, Video Surfaces.

Janartha added that the initiative began on August 15 and will run until August 29. As per the report, the first phase of the campaign, which includes vaccination and marking of stray dogs, is presently underway in Shimla, with GPS collar installation set to expand in the second stage.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 24, 2025 10:49 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).