BENGALURU: Animal lovers across the city are raging against the recent bye-law passed by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, which has led to panic. About 500 citizens have expressed interest in joining the protest in front of the BBMP office on June 9. An online protest #NotWithoutMyDog is trending on Twitter. There is also a Facebook page with the same name, with over 1,000 members, started by CJ Memorial Trust Bangalore.
An online petition addressing Dr Anand, Joint Director, Animal Husbandry, against the Palike’s move has received more than 7,000 signatures.While the Palike has passed the bye-law and the state government has approved it, it is not being implemented because animal lovers are challenging it ferociously. The BBMP has re-sent it to their legal cell for consideration, and till they hear back, they cannot fine anyone or confiscate an animal or pet.
The pet parents and pet lovers are okay with pet licensing but they find the move to impose restrictions on the number of pets they can keep ‘unconstitutional’. An animal welfare worker Reena Chengappa says, “We are a democratic country. The authorities cannot tell us how we should live. There’s no transparency too. We do not know who is taking the call on this. Animal welfare workers and centres are getting calls from panicking pet parents asking what they should do. This move by the Palike is very insensitive. Even the home boarders, foster homes and dog sitters will be affected by this. We cannot keep doing rounds of the disorganised municipal corporation asking permission each time we need a foster home.” She urges citizens, even those who do not own pets, to join the fight.
‘Do you real job well, Palike’
Vikram Bhaskar, animal activist, says, “If I can keep five dogs, I should be able to do so. Instead of implementing such rules, BBMP should provide resources for sterilisation programme. An agency in Marathahalli called me asking if I could help find them veterinarians to sterilise their 46 dogs.” He adds that though the bye-laws are hoping to rein in illegal breeders, the licensing clause will not affect them. “This is India and anything can be done with money. Breeders will easily get rid of any charges against them by paying off officials.”
Harini Raghavan, founding member, Citizens for Animal Birth Control, says, these bye-laws can affect the ABC programme. Bye-law 7 & 8 states any dog without the BBMP license and badge or a stray animal without the approved ear notch can be captured by BBMP staff and impounded for 72 hours or more. The dog can be redeemed by its owner by paying a fine of Rs 450 (or Rs 550 for unlicensed dog). If not claimed, these dogs will be considered stray dogs as per ABC 2001 Rules, and if healthy, they can be sold in auction, sent to a shelter, adopted or detained in a dog pound. If found to be suffering from suspected rabies, they will be euthanised.
Where is the voice of compassion?
Harini says these intrusive and archaic bye-laws are poorly executed. “Going by the fluidity in these bye-laws, an unlicensed and unclaimed indie pet dog is not any different from a unsterilised stray indie dog. ABC programme mandates notching of ears for stray dogs post surgery. A pet indie dog won’t have his or her ears notched and hence, stray dogs stand the risk of being impounded in the name of unclaimed indie pets. What will happen to these impounded dogs? Will they be auctioned or moved to a shelter? BBMP needs to think this through. They have to be the voice of compassion. These bye-laws need to be scrapped,” she says.
She says that the Palike can do better for the welfare of dogs and the public. “They should focus instead on Animal Birth Control. Promoting the native Indian breed is BBMP’s responsibility. For starters, they can get them on to the special list of 64 unheard of and exotic breeds,” she says.Priya Chetty-Rajagopal, an animal lover, says, passing such laws will increase instances of abandonment. “It’s like BBMP is promoting cruelty towards animals and not protecting them against it. BBMP can be held guilty for criminal intimidation. This is the third attempt to introduce such rules. No effort has been made to promote indie breeds or #AdoptDontShop or any attempt to curtail the breeding mafia. The BBMP has been singularly ineffective in controlling street dog population because they have been lax with the ABC programme, resulting in untold cruelty to them,” she says. She adds the list of breeds provided by the authority on what breeds will be allowed in the city does not include the Golden Retrievers or cocker spaniel, the ones that can sustain better in Indian climates.
Sudha Narayan runs a trauma centre at Charlie’s Animal Rescue Centre (CARE). She says, “Most pet owners’ second pet is an indie and hence, if they are forced to give up, these dogs will end up in centres like ours. Where will my trauma cases go if the place is occupied with second pets?” But, she is positive and hopes that BBMP will withdraw the bye-laws. “It is good to see how people unite to fight for cases like this,” she says.
‘Give the other pet up for adoption’
When City Express contacted Dr G Anand, Joint Director, Animal Husbandry, BBMP, he says the bye laws will be submitted to the legal cell of BBMP as per the instruction from the BBMP Commissioner. “After we get feedback from them, we will be implementing it. We are not doing it in a hurry or for the benefit of apartment associations. This is in the interest of general public,” he says. When asked if BBMP will take the responsibility of the extra pet that the owner has to give up, he says, “Why will BBMP take the responsibility? We won’t. It’s the responsibility of the pet owners to deal with it. They can either move to an independent house if they have more than a dog or give them up for adoption.”
FAQs for pet owners
A pet parent Mandakini Vasudevan has posted FAQs on her Facebook account to help pet parents and rule out any confusion about the bye-law. It answers some common questions from the pet parents.
What are these pet bye-laws? So much confusion
This is the BBMP Pet Dog Licensing Bye-Laws 2018, issued by BBMP. Under the law that mandates licenses for dogs, along with microchip. It also allows only one pet per apartment and three per independent house - the ‘extra’ dog/s are to be confiscated as per the law. The bye-law also has a list of 64 approved breeds that can be kept within the city limits.
Has it been implemented?
No, it hasn’t been implemented yet.
Can they take away my dogs? There are so many newspaper articles about it.
No, they cannot. The bye-law is being challenged by citizen groups.
BBMP pet licensing bye-laws are illegal, says advocate B K Arun
Article 21 of the constitution lays down that no person shall be deprived of his life or liberty except in accordance with the procedure established by the law. To have as many dogs as one may want within the privacy of one’s property is one’s liberty. And the choice of breed is also one’s right to liberty and privacy.
The bye-laws unfairly discriminate between the persons residing in apartments and those in an independent house. It is a fact that there could be independent houses smaller than apartments and vice versa. Therefore, the said discrimination does not satisfy the legal necessity of intelligible differentia and as such, it violates the right to equality.
It is necessary to appreciate the objects the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (KMC) Act, created by BBMP, seeks to achieve, and every power BBMP exercises is drawn from the said Act. Section 423 of the KMC Act confers the power to make bye-laws upon the BBMP. It is essential to appreciate the obligatory and discretionary functions of the Corporations established under the Sections 58 and 59 of the KMC Act which states that the responsibility of the maintenance of the public spaces and animal welfare is of the municipality. Hence, it makes it clear that making these bye-laws mandatory is something which finds no basis whatsoever in the KMC Act.