An animal activist has demanded Madurai Corporation to make licensing mandatory for pet lovers to prevent abandoning of animals on streets.
The activist Sai Mayur said that there was an increasing trend of abandoning dogs, especially that of foreign breeds of dogs, on streets by the owners which is endangering the lives of the animals.
“The breeds like Pomeranian, Labrador and Doberman are being abandoned by the owners for various reasons. However, these dogs are not used to survive on the roads,” he said.
These dogs do not know how to cross the roads. “A Doberman was killed while crossing the road near Airport on Sunday. In a similar accident, a German Shepherd was killed near Pandikoil a couple of months back,” he said.
Though the animal lovers were attracted towards the foreign breeds for a social status, they do not realise that petting foreign breeds was an expensive issue.
“Not just their medication, but the very maintenance was very costly. In some cases, the owners could not continue to afford the high maintenance cost. In some cases, either the house owners or neighbours do not allow the people to have pet animals. In such circumstances, these people leave the dogs on the roads,” Mr. Mayur said.
Stating that people were using the Ring Road, which was on the city border to abandon the dogs so that they could not return home, Mr. Mayur said the busy road is posing danger for the dogs.
He said that abandoning pet dogs is a criminal offense under Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita.
“People should refrain from buying dogs if they are not committed to caring for them throughout their lives. Adopting Indian breed dogs, which are better suited to our local conditions, is a more responsible choice,” he said.
To prevent abandoning of pet dogs, he suggested the Corporation to make licences mandatory of pets. Pet owners must ensure their pets were vaccinated against rabies and other diseases.
If they were found guilty of abandoning their dogs, they should face strict penalties, including heavy fines and imprisonment, and be barred from owning pets in future.
Instead of abandoning the dogs on streets, they should surrender the animals to NGOs, he said.
Published – January 05, 2025 06:35 pm IST
