After six different High Courts decided to either nullify or suspend the Centre’s circular last month banning 23 breeds of “ferocious” dogs, several animal rights groups and experts have spoken in support of the government’s breed-specific ban initiative.
On March 12, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying issued a circular prohibiting the import, breeding, and selling of 24 “ferocious” dog breeds including pitbull terrier, american staffordshire terrier, dogo argentine, american bulldog etc.
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While the High Courts of Kerala, Madras, Rajasthan, and West Bengal stayed the circular, the Delhi and Karnataka High Courts quashed it and directed the Ministry to give an opportunity to all stakeholders to raise their objections before issuing a fresh circular.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has supported the initiative to ban “ferocious” dog breeds.
“The circular issued by the Central government responsibly aimed to stop pit bull type breeds from being torn apart in illegal dogfights and to protect citizens from being attacked by dogs bred to be unstoppable weapons,” PETA said.
“There are 80 million dogs and cats suffering on India’s streets, and animal shelters are overcrowded, and pit bulls and related breeds are the most commonly abandoned dog breeds in India,” the animal rights outfit also said in its statement.
It added, “PETA India will call on the Central government to use this opportunity to see how the circular can be further strengthened to protect these vulnerable dog breeds, which are largely bred to be abused, and safeguard more Indian citizens against attack.”
Gauri Maulekhi, a prominent animal welfare activist and trustee of People for Animals, told The Hindu, “India has four crore street dogs, which are homeless. Proliferating or breeding more dogs of any variety — let alone the foreign variety — is basically not in the country’s interest.”
She said the import of foreign dog breeds in India should be banned.
“People should adopt Indian dogs when they have to,” said Ms. Maulekhi. “Given the hot Indian weather, keeping cold country dogs such as huskies and saint bernards is cruel to them anyway,” she added.
“Dogs such as rottweilers and dobermans, which require a lot of exercise, are sometimes kept in flats, which is harmful to them. And if you are cruel to an animal, their stress comes out in the form of conflict with humans,” said the animal welfare activist.
Varda Mehrotra, animal rights expert and founder of Samayu, a non-profit, said, “Banning certain dog breeds that are not suitable for the Indian conditions is a commendable step”.
She, however, said the ban needs to be practical in terms of its implementation so that it does not lead to increased abandonment of pets or harassment of pet owners.
On the other hand, the petitioners who challenged the Centre’s circular before the High Courts had argued that it lacked scientific basis and was not based on any research.
The petitioners said the circular lacked a comprehensive framework or research-backed methodology to define what exactly constitutes a “ferocious breed” and how the selected breeds fit into this classification.
They further stated that enforcing breed-specific legislation can be challenging, especially when determining a dog’s breed is not easy or when dealing with mixed-breed dogs.