Tackling monkey menace

GHAZIABAD: Dog owners in Ghaziabad may soon have to register their pets, for a fee as high as Rs 5,000, and pay fines if they don’t clean up after their canine.The Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation board met on Friday and passed proposals to regulate pet ownership. GMC asked its councillors for suggestions on how to go about this. “A lot of things were covered – from rules governing registration to how much fines should be charged. We left the job to an expert committee that can frame the rules that can be incorporated in the bylaws,” said AK Mishra, a GMC officer.The rules will come into effect after the GMC incorporates them in its bylaws. While Delhi and Gurugram have notified rules mandating pet registration, Noida is yet to do so.To register as a pet owner, some formalities have to be taken care of. “Under other municipalities, the dog’s vaccination card, address and information about breed have to be provided. I think the process will be the same in Ghaziabad. The registration fee and fine amount may be different,” AK Singh, veterinary officer, GMC, said. “There were suggestions that pet owners be charged Rs 5,000 for registration annually and a fine of Rs 500 be imposed for allowing a dog to poop in the open. These were suggestions. The committee will study pet laws in the country before settling on the rules that will apply here,” Mishra said.If GMC follows through on these proposals, the registration fee in Ghaziabad will be much higher than in other places that have mandated it. In Delhi, the annual registration fee is Rs 500. In Lucknow, pet owners have to pay Rs 500 a year for the registration of big breeds like Doberman or Labrador and Rs 300 for smaller breeds, like Pomeranian or Spitz. The steep charge proposed to GMC had been brought up earlier. “Last year, after a similar proposal, I had suggested that it be brought down to Rs 500. For some reason, the proposal fizzled out,” Sumedha Aiyer, a former member of People for Animals, said.GMC board gave nod to float tenders for catching monkeys. “Last year, we roped in professional monkey catchers from Mathura, but animal rights organisations questioned the manner in which monkeys were caught. This time, we will seek help from the forest department ,” Mishra said.