Your dog will need a licence now

Urban Development Dept has given its nod to BBMP’s proposal to enforce this rule afresh
Your dog will need a licence now

BENGALURU: Soon, taking your pet dog for a walk will require you to carry its licence. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP’s) long-pending proposal to enforce licences for pets will be implemented soon as the Urban Development Department (UDD) has recently given its nod.
In Bengaluru, according to the livestock census by Animal Husbandry Department, there are 3.21 lakh dogs, of which 1.05 lakh are pets. The civic agency had proposed to introduce pet licences in BBMP limits. Later, it even got the BBMP Council’s approval and was sent to the UDD.

However, it was returned with the UDD urging the BBMP to frame by-laws for the same. BBMP has now framed the by-laws, according to which every pet (dog) should have a pet licence from the BBMP. Licence is issued or renewed at Assistant Director (Animal Husbandry) offices at zonal level. The pet can also be vaccinated at that time.The licence has to be renewed once a year.

“While the number of dogs is restricted to just one for apartment dwellers, up to three are allowed for individual house owners,’’ said a senior official from BBMP.G Anand, BBMP Joint Director (Animal Husbandry), said the by-laws that BBMP had sent some time ago was pending before the UDD. “Now it has been cleared and sent to the Department of Law and Parliamentary Affairs for approval,’’ he said.
Once it is approved, the rules will be implemented and made mandatory.

He said they will issue a certificate, which the dog owner has to carry. “We have our own staff who will check the licences,’’ he said. The prescribed fee is `250, while for renewal it is `110.
Anand said that once the licence is issued, the card will have photograph of the dog, breed, age of the dog, vaccination details and the address, along with the contact details of the owner.

“With the licence, owner will be held responsible for several things. It will be the dog owner’s responsibility to clean the dog poop on roads or any public place if it caused by his/her particular dog. In case of any nuisance by dogs, the neighbours can complain; and in case of any injury like dog bites, the concerned victim can claim compensation from the dog owner,’’ Anand said.

MICROCHIP COLLARS
To begin with, cards will be issued to the owners. G Anand, BBMP Joint Director (Animal Husbandry) said, “There is a proposal to introduce microchip-based collars which can be tied around the dog’s neck. Equipped with reading machines, the BBMP officers will get to know every minute detail like when the dog was vaccinated, the age of the inspected dog, the breed and the licence details. However, this is not applicable to stray dogs. Some NGOs have come forward to issue such collar IDs to the stray dogs, we will give permission.”

DOG OWNERS, WATCH OUT!
If dog poop is found on the roads or public places, it will be the dog owner’s responsibility to clean it
If any nuisance is caused by dogs, neighbours can complain to BBMP
In case of injuries due to dog bites, the victim can claim compensation from the dog owner

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