The Karnataka High Court Tuesday issued notice to the Union of India and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by a charitable trust against the civic body’s proposal to implant microchips on stray dogs in the State capital.

A bench of Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind issued the notice after the counsel for the petitioner, Save our Animals Charitable Trust, argued that BBMP had no power to undertake such a project.

The petitioner further argued that implanting microchips inside the bodies of stray dogs to inject vaccines, monitor them and to control their population was invasive and against the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Animal Birth Control Rules of 2023.

While the bench initially said that there should “not be any objection to controlling” stray dog population, it subsequently agreed to issue notice in the matter after the respondent authorities sought time to make arguments.

BBMP’s Health and Animal Husbandry Department had issued a Request for Proposal document in February this year for its pilot project for implanting microchips on stray dogs across the city.