Home Cities Bangalore Bengaluru civic body reintroduces controversial draft bylaw for dog owners

Bengaluru civic body reintroduces controversial draft bylaw for dog owners

The bylaw seeks to limit the number of dogs that can be reared in a flat and independent house, and makes it mandatory for owners to fix a microchip and sterilise their pets.

Dog lovers, however, are unhappy with the new bylaw. Sandhya Madappa from Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) said, “The one dog per flat will discourage the people to adopt the pet and also discourage breeders.” (Representational Image)

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has again come up with a draft version of pet dog licensing bylaw after withdrawing them in 2018.

The bylaw seeks to limit the number of dogs that can be reared in a flat and independent house, and makes it mandatory for owners to fix a microchip and sterilise their pets.

The draft has been placed before the BBMP council for approval. According to the bylaws, an owner staying in a flat cannot keep more than a dog and those in an independent house can keep up to three dogs. Meanwhile, rules have been relaxed for those who rear abandoned, rescued and local breeds, but they should get necessary certification from the local authorities.

D. Randeep, Special Commissioner (Animal Husbandry), BBMP, said, “The bylaw is yet to be approved by the BBMP council after this pet licensing will be mandatory and this will help to manage the pet dog population.”

The bylaw makes it mandatory for pet dog owners to get a license; failure to do so would attract a fine of Rs 1,000.

Dog lovers, however, are unhappy with the new bylaw. Sandhya Madappa from Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) said, “The one dog per flat will discourage the people to adopt the pet and also discourage breeders.”

The BBMP has also proposed to utilise the revenue which will be generated from licence fees and fines for the animal birth control(ABC) and anti-rabies vaccination programs for stray dogs in the city.

The government withdrew the pet dog licensing bylaw following opposition from animal lovers in 2018,. Petitions were filed in the Karnataka High Court leading to withdraw the bylaw.

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