While it’s not often you see dogs walking the streets of Jakarta, plenty of people here are pet lovers with canine companions. Unfortunately, conditions for dogs in the Indonesian capital can be ruff as rabies remains a real concern.
To help combat the risk of rabies spreading and improve the overall quality of animal welfare in Jakarta, the capital’s office of Food, Marine and Agriculture Security Services (KPKP) is giving away 500 tiny microchips meant to be implanted into dogs to record their identities and health status.
KPKP Jakarta has distributed the microchips to each of Jakarta’s five administrative districts so that dog owners can get them placed in their pooches for free.
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In addition to the tiny chips, which are similar in size to a grain of rice and contain an RFID signal encoded with each pet’s identifying information, each owner that volunteers their pups also get an official ID card (KTP) for their dog. The free service has been offered at various KPKP offices since October 1.
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Owners who can’t make it to one of the KPKP offices can also have the chips implanted at veterinary clinics for a small fee and get their animals registered with the government pet database that way.
In South Jakarta, the local KPKP office collaborated with the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) to get 100 dogs microchipped for free at an event located at Vodka & Latte Salon & Co, a dog salon in Kemang on Saturday in honor of World Rabies Day.
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JAAN co-founder Karin Franken said that in addition to the other obvious benefits, microchipping dogs would help improve the culture of dog ownership in Jakarta.
“Owners sometimes get dogs just because its trendy, but they don’t taken care of them. Maybe the first year when they’re cute, but later when it becomes more work they just get rid of their pets. These microchips can help increase awareness,” Karin told CNN Indonesia, noting that while microchipping services for dogs have long been available in Jakarta, usually it was only done by foreigners from countries where it is required of pet owners.
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In another hopeful sign, the government will be requiring all dogs bought and sold in Jakarta to have microchips starting next year, hopefully cutting down on the number of illegal, unregulated and often inhumane dog breeders.
For more information on getting your dog or pet microchipped, contact the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN).
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