As the cases of aggressive dog attacks are rising, considering the situation the central government imposed a ban on the sale and breeding of 23 ferocious dogs including the American Bulldog, and Pitbull Terrier.
This ruling came as a retort to the writ petition that was filed in the Delhi High Court by PETA India (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). The high court supervised the central government to resolve the issue after conferring with all the stakeholders within three months.
OP Chaudhary, the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has written a letter to all the chief secretaries of States and union territories directing the ban on the sale, breeding, and keeping of 23 breeds of ferocious dogs. As per the letter, the expert committee that presided by the Animal Husbandry commissioner instructed prohibition on the import of such dog breeds. The Union government also solicited the implementation of the Dog Breeding and Marketing Rules 2017 and the Pet Shop Rules 2018.
The committee has suggested a ban on breeds such as Pitbull Terrier, Tosa Inu, American Staffordshire Terrier, Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Argentino, American bulldog, Boerboel, Kangal, Central Asian Shepherd Dog, Caucasian Shepherd Dog, South Russian Shepherd, and other breeds include Tornjak, Sarplaninac, Japanese Tosa and Akita, Mastiffs, Rottweiler, Terriers, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Wolf dogs, Canario, Akbash dog, Moscow Guard dog and Cane Corso. These breeds which have already been held as pets, should be sterilized to prevent further breeding, the center said.
The expert panel also recommended a prohibition on the import, breeding, and selling of cross and mixed breeds as pet dogs and for other purposes.
PETA India praised the central government for this step. Vulnerable dog breeds are used by criminal elements. They trained and exploited the dog breeds for illegal dogfighting. To protect the vulnerable dog breeds and to protect the safety of humans PETA filed the petition earlier.
Recently the attacks of aggressive dogs especially on children and the elderly are increasing. An official said a stray dog attacked twenty people in the Ghumarwin area within a span of a few hours, and all the injured were treated at a local hospital and given anti-rabies vaccine.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Lavanya Beeraboina/MSM)