GUANGZHOU - Dog owners in the Guangdong provincial capital must have a special microchip inserted beneath the skin of their pets by the end of July.

And Guangzhou police have licensed 27 offices as places where dog owners can go to have the chips inserted.

The policy is meant to enable authorities to exercise more control over the large number of dogs in Guangzhou, according to an officer with the city's public security bureau.

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In addition to information concerning a dog's date of birth, health conditions and vaccination history, the chip, also known as an electronic dog identity card, will record the name and address of its owner.

Following the insertion of a chip, dog owners will receive a special red ribbon marker, which their dogs will have to wear when they are brought to local streets and other public places.

According to the Rules on Raising Dogs in Guangzhou, which were passed in July 2009, anyone who violates those rules will be fined as much as 2,000 yuan ($300).

Meanwhile, a special campaign to prevent locals from acting indecently when they play with their dogs has been under way since May.

The campaign will last until the end of July.

In addition to keeping their pets on a leash, dog owners are required to clean up the animals' waste, according to the rules.

According to Guangzhou statistics, local police in the past two years have worked on 3,157 cases in which residents were hurt by dogs, have received 1,793 complaints from people who felt endangered by dogs that had been allowed to roam without leashes in public places and have received 7,988 complaints about barking dogs and excrement.

Local authorities are trying to make it easy for residents to comply with the new rules.

"The injection of the rice-sized chip costs nothing if dog owners have applied for a dog license and have paid the annual fees (they owe)," according to a veterinarian in Guangzhou's Yuexiu district, who declined to give his name.

The fee for registering a dog in Guangzhou is 500 yuan ($77) for the first year, and 300 yuan a year from the second year onward.

The chip will last for 50 years - much longer than a dog's lifespan.

Many residents have welcomed the new requirement.

Wang Wencai, a dog owner in Guangzhou's Tianhe district, said the chips will help police better control the large number of dogs in the city.

"In the future, I'll be able to ask the police for help after my pet gets lost or is stolen," Wang told China Daily.

Guangzhou has granted licenses to more than 40,000 pet dogs since July 2009.

And local authorities have opened a website that allows locals to go online to apply for a dog license, pay annual pet fees and exchange advice about dogs.