CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the authorities concerned not to impound the domestic dogs or pups kept by owners or kennel operators for two weeks or until further orders, based on a PIL.
The first bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar gave the direction on Wednesday while entertaining a PIL from the Kennel Club of India filed by its secretary CV Sudarsan in Anna Nagar. The PIL sought to declare the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dog Breeding and Marketing) Rules, 2017, as illegal and unlawful.
The bench ordered notice on the PIL to the Attorney-General, through the Additional Solicitor General, since the vires of the Central rule is under challenge. Government Pleader MK Subramanian took notice for the State Animal Husbandry department. The matter will come up again on July 24.
The Rules were brought into force by a notification dated May 23 last. It defined the word ‘breeder’ as an individual or a group of persons who own dogs of specific breeds for breeding and sale of dogs and pups includes boarding kennel operator, intermediate handlers and traders.
Any person who keeps a fertile pedigreed pure breed dog/bitch for love of it and takes progeny out of it, however, occasionally would be covered by the definition. ‘Breeder’ cannot mean and include boarding kennel operator, intermediate handler or trader.
Another rule prohibited breeding dogs without registration. A breeder has to make a separate application for each such establishment. The word ‘establishment’ is not defined in the rule and it would cover any domestic house. So, if a person has a pet dog in his house and he also has a farm where he keeps dogs for guarding would be considered a distinct establishment and he needs to be registered.