Animals in Smart Cities

Animals in Smart Cities
The Coexistence of Humans and Companion Animals in the Smart City ...

Introduction
• In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
launched the Smart Cities project for 109 cities
across the country, which aims to enhance the
physical, institutional, social and economical
scale of the cities with the stated purpose of
improving lives.
• One would therefore assume that the primary aim
of the project is to improve the quality of life,
rather than to juggle with the digital and
technologies that focuses on the delivery of
conveniences through gadgets.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi
launched the Smart Cities

Introduction
• According to government websites, the
Smart Cities scheme will ensure adequate
water, electricity, sanitation, solid waste
management, urban mobility, public
transport, affordable housing, IT
connectivity, good governance, citizen
participation, sustainable environment, and
the safety and security of citizens –
particularly women, children and the elderly.

Introduction
• But there are no documents mentioning the
welfare of India’s non-human and non-
voting citizenry – the urban animals.
• If inclusivity is one of the stated missions of
the Smart Cities scheme, and if it should mean
of all life.

welfare of India’s non-human and
non-voting citizenry

Introduction
• Smart Cities mission relegates other life forms to
remain stalled in obsolete laws, and in garbage bins
and gutters, slaughtered and transported without
adequate measures of science or compassion and
incarcerated in the government-run Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
• In short, urban animals are not the beneficiaries of any
improved parameters of the scheme, which makes us
wonder if there is a government or corporate budget for
animals in the Smart Cities project.

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals

Introduction
• The environment ministry, ,made a public
declaration on the sentience of animals by
instituting short courses on animal welfare
in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, “to
recognise animals as sentient beings,
capable of pain and suffering and to
promote their welfare as part of the social
development of nations”.

to recognise animals as sentient
beings

Introduction
• However, one hopes that this kind of
‘welfarist’ syllabus, doesn’t have subsequent
training personnel to escalate and extract
higher animal yields in government and private
commercial projects (like the out-dated animal
husbandry department), but genuinely creates
a cadre of humans who will care, fight and
lobby for animals.

Training Personnel To Escalate And
Extract Higher Animal Yields

Pets In Smart Cities
• In one side, dangerous dogs, chained dogs,
puppy mills, stray cats, feral rabbit in the
other side sweet pets.
• In any case a great opportunity for Internet of
Things companies for improve liveability in
Smart Cities.

Pets in smart cities
• While the main initiatives in Smart Cities are
related with areas like: Intelligent Transport
and Smarter Parking, Efficient Resource
Management (water, energy), Building
Automation and Smart Buildings or Public
Safety, It is important also to include other
areas like Urban Agriculture or integrating
Pets in the Smart City.

Pets In Smart Cities
• There are 3.3 billion people living in cities today—a
number that will double by 2050 –The average
number of pets per household varies in different
countries especially depending on the population.
• There is no documentation of the average number of
pets per household in the world. However the UK has
an average of 3.7 whereas the US has an average of 3.9.
• That means around 3 billion pets living with us. As
urban populations swell, so will already increasing
pet populations.

Smart Cities, Pets and Regulations
• In India the stray dog problem has been described
as “alarming” and a number of proposals have
surfaced to address the problem, from exporting
them to other countries to sterilizing them.
• Kansas City’s municipal no-kill animal shelter has so
many pets it’s had to convert bathrooms, closets, locker
rooms, the basement and the employee break room to
find space for them, according to an AP report.
• In August 2013, as many as 50,000 starving stray
dogs swarmed Detroit when people left the bankrupt
city leaving their pets behind.

Smart Cities, Pets and Regulations

Not all dogs are man´s best friends and
not all dog owners are responsible
• Whether you are a passionate activist fighting for
animal rights or you are a person that don’t like
dogs or hate cats, everyone has their own reasons for
speaking/discuss for pets in favour or against day in
and day out.
• Smart Cities majors and municipal councils must
recognize that the problem exist, collect information
and develop infrastructure and tools to enact
proactive bylaws that foster safe, humane and
liveable communities for people and animals alike.
• Municipal councils has the power to anticipate and help
solve these problems through their animal bylaws.

Not all dogs are man´s best friends and not all
dog owners are responsible

Technologies to improve liveability
• Fortunately, technologies that are emerging can help smart cities, their
shelters, pet owners and prospective pet owners to improve liveability for
two-legged and four-legged city residents. Let’s take a look at five of these
technologies.
• Social media: To attract people to the shelter and to find the animals great
homes.
• Facial recognition software: To unite pets with their owners.
• Interactive website: To link pets to people looking to adopt one.
• Licensing apps: To better connect licensed pets with their owners.
• Internet of Things: To help owners easily track their pets or to identify or
predict aggressive behaviour and avoid being attacked.

Social Media
• Social media: The Twitter account “Cuties in
Denver” is filled with pictures of dogs and cats
in the Denver Animal Shelter ready for
adoption.
• Each of the tweets come with a short message
and photo of the featured animal. The goal is
to attract people to the shelter using social
media -- and to find the animals great homes.

Facial recognition software
• Facial recognition software: An animal shelter in San
Diego created what they say is the first-ever initiative
in the U.S. to use facial recognition software to unite
pets with their owners.
• San Diego County Animal Services joined with creators
of the app Finding Rover which has proven useful to
reunite pets and owners after disasters like the wildfires
the region has experienced. "The app," says the Times,
"uses snapshots to match the faces of lost dogs with
those that have been found or admitted to one of the
three county shelters,

Finding Rover Pet Facial Recognition
https://www.findingrover.com/

Interactive website
• Interactive website: The Shelter Pet Project is an
online agency that links dogs to people looking to
adopt one.
• The website has cool interactive features that let
people play with a dog, send it running in different
directions, or just watch it stare lovingly at them.
After a few minutes of playing, the website asks
for an address to connect the website visitor with
local shelters to find a dog like the one they played
with.

The Shelter Pet Project
https://theshelterpetproject.org

Licensing apps
• Licensing apps: Pawzii – a company founded by
a group of passionate animal welfare advocates --
builds software to benefit animal shelters.
• Its first product was a pet-licensing app that
shelters can use to better connect licensed pets
with their owners, and to quickly license pets
and send renewal notices. The Pawzii website
notes that 90% of lost pets that have licenses
are found within 48 hours.

Internet of Things
GPS app for pets
• GPS app for pets: San Francisco-based Whistle
launched a wearable GPS app to help owners
easily track their pets.
• They say it's an inexpensive and effortless way
for pet owners to have "peace of mind that
they will never lose their best friend.”
• Whistle GPS is possible in the U.S. due to
deployment of the SIGFOX wireless network
providing cellular connectivity for the Internet of
Things.

Whistle
https://www.whistle.com

Recruit Pets as additional sensors of
a city
• the idea of not only recruit people but recruit
pets as additional sensors of a city rather than
relying only on formal systems embedded into
infrastructure comes to my mind.
• Many smart pet-devices (like Petnet or Tractive
Motion) will accelerate creation of new apps,
solutions and smart city services to make a
difference how pets and people share a common
environment.

Recruit Pets as additional sensors of
a city

Tourism with or without Pets in
Smart Cities
• Taking pets away when enjoying a break is an increasing
trend. For instance, in UK, nearly two million dog
owners and around one million cat owners take their
pets away when enjoying a break away from home.
• Many people who do not wish to be parted from their pets
when visit a city for pleasure and sometimes for business
need the confidence that the city and not only the hotels that
they are booking quality accommodation offer services that
meets their and their pet’s particular needs.
• Internet of Things can play a crucial role into assist
tourists travelling with pets during their trip and allow
city managers to coordinate pet’s tourism services and
monitor the status of their use at all times to guarantee
quality pet public services.

Smart Cities

Smart Cities
• people that consider their pets as members
of their family and a trend that is growing
where more pet devices are becoming
available to feed our needs to treat their pets
like their kids.

The Study and Application of the IoT in Pet
Systems
• The Study and Application of the IoT in Pet
Systems examines the ability of
computation, communication, and control
technologies to improve human interaction
with pets by the technology of the Internet of
Things, and companies like Tractive
Motion, an activity tracker that logs your
pet’s exercise, body temperature and
exposure to sunlight, allowing you to stay on
top of your pet’s fitness goals.

The Study and Application of the
IoT in Pet Systems

The Study and Application of the
IoT in Pet Systems
• In the report “Mapping Smart Cities in the EU”,
Smart Cities have been further defined along six
axes or dimensions: Economy; Mobility;
Environment; People; Living and Governance.
Where to include the role of smart services for
pets/animals in a Smart City is not clear yet,
but we must encourage municipal councils to
enact proactive animal bylaws and to include
as a new cross project inside of the portfolio of
initiatives.

Smart Services For Pets/Animals

Prioritising animal welfare
• Many cities of the world have prioritised
animal welfare to earn their smart city
designation.
• Independent city councils, with a balanced
quorum of real animal science experts,
administrators and activists, usually under the
mayor, arrive at local city decisions without
seeking approval from state governments and
without being bogged down by political
interference.

Prioritising animal welfare
• For example, Seattle has built a state-of-the-art animal shelter. City
mayor Ed Murray said, “The welfare of animals in the care of the city
is a priority”.
• The Los Angeles City Council, making history, voted out the sale of
commercially bred dogs, cats and rabbits, thus ending puppy mills and
breeders.
• Councillor Jordi Martí of Barcelona said that Barcelona was the first
Catalan city to ban animal sacrifice, the presence of wild animals in
circuses and bull runs. Collecchio, in Parma province, Italy, has passed a
legislation that forces citizens to use silent fireworks in order to protect
animals.
• After 140 years, Buenos Aires has shut its zoo, declaring that captivity
is degrading to animals. In all these cases, the decisions were city-based
and genuinely furthered the cause. Similarly, smart cities must enact
proactive bylaws that foster safe, humane and liveable communities for
people and animals alike.

Becoming a true smart city
• In India, we have a plethora of animal-friendly laws that are
defined by their lack of implementation.
• These ‘good’ laws are manipulated and twisted around
by politicians for tawdry votes, like the attempt to bring
back banned sports like Jallikttau (bull fighting) despite
court verdicts or retaining elephants in captivity by citing
‘culture’ and tradition, or not bringing in new laws against
the cruelty to animals. Unless these laws are changed,
animals will continue to be tossed around by the vagaries of
delayed or no legislation.
• A city that does not care for its non-human life is
unintelligent, unethical and immoral and not worthy of
being called ‘smart’.

• To begin with, no city can be deemed smart unless
there is a ban on the manufacture and sale of plastic
carry bags that clog every drains of cities, including
in the bellies of cows, which are the victims of urban
garbage bins.
• For all the nonsensical cow activists in this country,
they are the most exploited and shabbily treated of
all urban animals and mainly live off human waste.
Buffaloes, who are tied up in dark and dingy urban
dairies all their lives, die without ever moving or seeing
a sliver of sunlight. The only time they get to walk is
when they march towards their own death.

Ban On The Manufacture And Sale Of
Plastic Carry Bags

Becoming A True Smart City
• Smart cities must launch an aggressive animal
birth control (ABC) programme for stray dogs
and cats – the only humane way to control
their numbers and to end rabies.
• Unused spaces of hundreds of defunct animal
husbandry departments can be utilised for ABC in
collaboration with NGOs.
• Garbage-free cities and legal protection of
animal caregivers, who continue to feed,
vaccinate and neuter, despite severe hostility,
will help contain stray dog proliferation.

Animal Birth Control (ABC)
Programme

• State-of-the-art government veterinary
colleges, ambulances and hospitals with
well-paid vets and para-vets for small and
large animals will bring pride back to the
veterinary profession and will bring in funds
for research and development.

State-of-the-art Government Veterinary
Colleges

• “Cities can’t manage animal shelters like
janitorial way-stations for euthanisable
strays”. The infamous lock-up-and-forget dog
pounds will have to be stopped before they
even come into existence.
• High-level modernity must inform transport
of animals for slaughter and rule-less
abattoirs where animals are primitively
slaughtered in full view of each other.

• Smart cities should ban religion-based sacrifice
of animals in streets, temples and backyards
and institute strict rules for the welfare of
chickens in the egg industry who suffer a
lifetime of misery.
• Pet shops should also adhere to strict rules.
Ruthless, unlicensed dog breeders must be
heavily fined or put behind bars along with
those who sell wildlife and their parts through
websites like OLX, Quikr and Amazon.

Ban Religion-based Sacrifice Of Animals

• Smart cities should investigate the lives of horses that
are used in weddings and buggy pullers as well as ban
the use of donkeys in construction sites and of elephants
for commercial purposes.
• Many cities globally are phasing out zoos. Rather than
showcasing animals, smart cities should free them from
captivity.
• If all this is to be done, a smart city should seriously
consider incorporating an empowered animal welfare
enforcement agency, as opposed to the present advisory
bodies in order to relieve the already overburdened
regular police force from attending to animal cruelty
and rescue reports.

Many cities globally are phasing out
zoos

• These could be uniformed units on vehicles, with
authority to lodge cases, fine, arrest and impound,
somewhat akin to an animal police force.
• Special animal courts with trained judges in animal laws
will ensure fast track justice for animals and the rescue
and rehabilitation of traumatised animals must be quick
and efficient.
• Smart cities can become like Gotham City or they can be
verdant and forested, brimming with birdsong and wildlife,
where monkeys and wild boars can live in peripheral natural
habitats, where the wagging tails of happy community dogs
on garbage free roads can re-instate India’s commitment to
the growing global discourse on animal ethics.

Special animal courts with trained
judges

Case Study : Benefits of Pet Ownership For
the Elderly
• Owning a pet can have substantial physical
and psychological benefits for an elderly
person.
• Dogs especially can provide an older person with
companionship, security and a reason to pursue
physical activity.
• While an elderly person must consider the
work and responsibility that comes with
owning an animal, the pros to pet-owning can
far outweigh any cons.

Benefits of Pet Ownership For the
Elderly

Physical Benefits
• Owning a pet can improve an aging person's
physical well-being. First and foremost, having
a pet keeps a person physically active.
• Dogs need to be walked regularly, and even
cats need to be played with and cleaned up
after. Pets also provide additional physical
benefits.
• Seniors who keep pets are often found to have
lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels
and lower levels of triglyceride.

Owning a pet can improve an aging
person's physical well-being.

Psychological Benefits
• Even more pronounced than the physical benefits of
owning a pet are the psychological benefits many
elderly people enjoy after buying or adopting a pet.
• Pets help relieve the sense of loneliness that many
seniors experience and help decrease incidents of
depression in the elderly.
• Animals are especially beneficial in helping an older
person work through the loss of a spouse or loved
one. Seniors who own pets tend to take better care of
themselves and take part in more social events and
outings. Animals also offer many older people an
enhanced sense of security, which can reduce the
person's stress levels.

Concerns
• When taking on a pet, an elderly person should
weigh some concerns against the potential
benefits.
• Pets do require a certain amount of time and
physical care, so it is important the potential
pet owner is sure he is able to take on the
responsibility or that he has a caregiver or
family member who is willing to help. Potential
pet owners should also be tested for allergies to
make sure the pet will not cause any health
problems.

Choosing a Pet
• Many kinds of animals are suitable for elderly
people, but dogs tend to provide the kind of
companionship many seniors seek.
• Small dogs are often easier to handle than larger ones,
especially if the person lives in a small condo or seniors
apartment complex.
• Puppies can also be troublesome, so look for slightly
older dogs that have already been trained.
Recommended dog breeds for elderly people include
terriers, chihuahuas, cocker spaniels and other
small- or medium-sized, even-tempered dogs.

animals can benefit the elderly and those
living with dementia
• A person with dementia can be confused about what
stage of their life they are at and may think they are
back in the past.
• ‘Pets don’t change their appearance over time. As
humans, our clothes and images have changed over the
years – the clothes we wear and the haircuts we have
are different now to many years ago.
• Having a pet or interacting with one can improve
the health and wellbeing of the elderly, boosting
physical health as well as mood. Here are 12 key
reasons why pets can benefit physical and mental
wellbeing:

animals can benefit the elderly and those living with
dementia

Lower blood pressure
• Scientists believe that stroking a dog or a cat
can help you relax and therefore reduce blood
pressure.
• A 2002 study revealed that dog or cat
owners had lower resting heart rates and
blood pressure than those who didn’t have
pets.

Reduced risk of heart attack and
stroke
• According to scientists, owning a cat can
relieve stress and anxiety and therefore
reduce the risk of heart disease.
• A study that looked at over 4400 adults aged
between 30 and 75, including half who owned
a cat, showed that 3.4% had died from a heart
attack over ten years. In the group who had
never owned a cat, 5.8% had died from heart
attacks.

Reduced risk of heart attack and
stroke

Better mood
• Stroking a dog can be comforting to both parties.
When you stroke a dog, a hormone called oxytocin,
linked to anxiety relief, is released.
• A study conducted at Uppsala University in Sweden
presented at the 12th International Conference of
Human-Animal Interactions in 2010, showed that
friendly human-dog interaction releases oxytocin in
both humans and dogs.
• ‘It’s interesting if you walk down the street with a
dog how many people look at him and it brings a
smile to their face,’ ‘That really stimulates a positive
emotional response.’

Fewer visits to the doctor
• According to Pets for The Elderly Foundation
in the US, 21% of elderly persons who had a
pet had fewer visits to their doctor.
• Owning a pet like a dog will make you more
active. Being regularly active is noted for
reducing heart disease and risk of having a stroke,
as well as reducing the risk of developing diseases
like dementia and some cancers. Experts also
believe that pets can help us recover faster
after illness or surgery.

Better social contact
• Walking a dog is more likely to promote
social interaction and conversations with
others and lead to increased likelihood of
new friendships.
• There is more chance striking up conversations
with pet owners in parks and other public
places when you are walking a dog.

Less stress
• Stroking a pet is thought to reduce the level of
stress-related hormones in the blood.
• Reducing stress can help protect against
heart disease by lowering blood pressure
and reducing heart rate.

More affection and love
• Focusing on taking care of an animal is a
great way to give and receive love. ‘It’s a
very positive thing to recognise the care and
nurturing benefits of having a dog and
focusing emotional energy on a pet,’

More active
• Dog walkers will naturally be active.
According to a 1991 survey, pet owners in
general had higher exercise levels and fewer
minor health problems.

Greater sense of comfort and
security
• For many elderly people who lack regular
social interaction and company, pets can be
their main source of comfort.
• In a survey by Pets For The Elderly
Foundation, 95% of elderly people spoke to
their pets, while 82% said their pets help them
when they feel sad.

Greater sense of comfort and
security

Improved overall health
• Pet owners seem to be healthier than those
who don’t own pets according to experts.
Those with a good relationship with their
pets were, on average, healthier than those
who don’t have pets according to pet
research Allen R McConnell, a professor of
psychology at Miami University.

References
Benefits of companion pets for seniors
• https://elizz.com/caregiver-resources/just-for-caregivers/elderly-pets-benefits
How tech-savvy cities will affect the canine population.
• http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2014/10/smart_cities_will_change_life_for_urb
an_dogs.html
Is there room for pets in smart cities?
• https://pacomaroto.wordpress.com/smart-cities-series/is-there-room-for-pets-in-smart-cities/
PETA India: India's Animal Rights Organisation | PETA India
• https://www.petaindia.com/
Smart technologies to help cities cope with soaring pet populations
• https://smartcitiescouncil.com/article/5-smart-technologies-help-cities-cope-soaring-pet-populations
To Be Truly Inclusive, the Smart Cities Project Must Also Protect Non-Human Lives
• https://thewire.in/57609/smart-cities-cannot-ignore-nonhuman-life/
12 good reasons why animals can benefit the elderly and those living with dementia
• http://www.sweettree.co.uk/blog/12-good-reasons-animals-can-benefit-elderly-living-dementia/
15 Animal Rights in India That Every Citizen Should Know
• https://www.thebetterindia.com/46721/humane-society-india-animal-laws-prevention-of-cruelty-act/

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