Amid a spate of incidents of attacks on humans by pet dogs, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Gurugram on Tuesday directed the Municipal Corporation to ban 11 "foreign breeds" of dogs in the city, besides imposing strict conditions for owning dogs.
The wide range of orders include a ceiling limit of only one pet dog per family, registration tokens for all dogs, metal chains, face covers and the like. Here’s all you need to know about the directives:
Which breeds of dogs have been banned in Gurugram?
As per the order, eleven ‘foreign’ breeds of dogs have been banned including American Pit-bull Terriers, Dogo Argentino, Rottweiller, Neapolitan Mastiff, Boerboel, Presa Canario, Wolf Dog, Bandog, American Bulldog, Fila Brasileiro and Cane Corso. The order has come into effect since November 15.
All existing licenses issued “in favour of the dog owners for keeping the above-cited pet dogs” shall stand nullified as per the order. Furthermore, the circular also directs the MCG to “immediately” seize and take into custody the aforesaid dogs.
These dogs are considered “hunting dogs,” who according to the American Kennel Club are “bred for the pursuit of big-game such as wild boar and puma, and possesses the strength, intelligence and quick responsiveness of a serious athlete.”
Registration fee, yearly renewals
The forum has also mandated registration of pet dogs with effect from November 15. Pet owners will be required to seek licences within a month at a fee of at least Rs. 12,000 per year, besides seeking an annual renewal at an additional fee of not less than Rs. 10,000 per year.
Count your dogs
Furthermore, every registered dog must wear a collar and be put on a metal leash. The order also instructs families to ‘count their dogs’ wherein each family is permitted to keep only one dog.
Whenever the registered dogs are to be taken in public places, the owners are required to “properly” cover the dog’s mouth with a net cap “or otherwise,” the order reads.
Strict penalties
The orders introduce monetary penalties as well as jail terms for those violating orders.
Those found violating the aforesaid provisions, his/her dog shall be immediately taken into custody by the MCG and a fine of “not less than Rs 20,000 and extending upto Rs 2 lakh” will be imposed on the violator and in default of the provisions, he will incur “imprisonment not less than one month which may extend upto two years”.
When barking dogs seldom bite, who compensates?
The orders came against the backdrop of a case of a domestic help, Munni, who approached the forum after being injured in an attack by a Dogo Argentino in August this year in Civil Lines. She had suffered critical injuries on her head and face and an FIR was registered.
The complainant had approached the consumer court under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 in which compensation of Rs 20 lakhs was demanded and MCG and dog owner Neetu Chhikara was made a party.
The forum directed the MCG to take the dog in custody and cancel the dog owner Vinit Chikara’s licence to own a dog with immediate effect. It also directed a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to be paid to the victim, and gave MCG the liberty to recover the amount from the owner of the dog.
“It is further made clear that the owner of the dog had blatantly violated the law of the land and rules framed thereunder for having kept the banned breed of dog i.e. Dogo Argentino as a pet dog, so the MCG is put at liberty to recover the amount of Rs 2 lakhs from the owner of the dog,” it said.
In a similar incident on Thursday, The Greater Noida Authority slapped a penalty of Rs 10,000 on a pet owner, after his dog bit a six-year-old child inside their building's lift. An FIR was also registered under section 289 (negligent behaviour with respect to an animal) of the Indian Penal Code.
Stray dogs to be taken into custody
Keeping this in mind, the MCG has also been instructed to take all stray dogs within its limits into custody with immediate effect and shelter them in dog ponds or at a place maintained by the MCG near Basai village in alliance with NGOs.
“For stray dogs, in case of dog bite cases, the minimum compensation shall not be less than Rs 20,000 and which may extend up to Rs 2 lakh depending on the nature and gravity of the injuries suffered by the victim,” the forum’s order said, adding that the civic body was further directed to frame appropriate rules in light of these directions within three months.
Orders banning dogs
Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC) and the Panchkula Municipal Corporation had earlier similarly banned pitbull and rottweiler breeds of dogs as pets within the city limits.
In October, the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation approved a proposal banning the domestication of three breeds of dogs: pit bull, Rottweiler, and Dogo Argentino. The order came in the wake of recurrent attacks by pit bulls in Ghaziabad.
The tussle between treating dogs as “territorial beings,” protecting dog lovers v/s dogs becoming a cause of concern and nuisance for residents has often been battled in courtrooms. With the Gurugram district court issuing sweeping orders, it is yet to be seen how the MCG acts to implement it on ground.
Soon after the orders were announced, residents took to Twitter to voice mixed reactions. While one section of citizens hailed the orders, the others said the directives leave more questions than they answer. Some even alleged animal cruelty and called for a review.
(With inputs from PTI)
