Dogs in a farm in Gurugram, Haryana. , photo credit: file photo
Registration of pet dogs with civic authorities in the city has hit a roadblock, with the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) asking for documents about importers who had flown in foreign breeds and pet owners not being able to furnish them.
Even as pet owners are opposing the move, the civic body is accepting registration forms but has put a hold on issuing certificates.
order from 2016
A senior MCG official, requesting anonymity, said that as per the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s notification on April 25, 2016, details of the importer were required in case of foreign breed, but none of the pet owners had it. Not there.
“We are holding consultations with senior officials of the state and central governments to seek a possible solution. The main objective is to register dogs. An announcement will be made soon. Meanwhile, we are accepting registration forms but not issuing certificates.
The civic body, in a notice earlier this month, had said that all dogs falling under the jurisdiction of the MCG should be registered under section 311 of the Haryana Municipal Act-1994. The notice was issued last month following an order by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum directing the civic body to ensure that.
The order also banned eleven exotic breeds as pets and directed the MCG to detain them, besides restricting only one pet per household. This order was later challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which stayed it.
pet owners protest
MCG’s registration form seeking documents about importer of foreign breed has been opposed, with pet owners demanding withdrawal of the order. “Registration of dogs is a welcome step. But when dog breeding is so unregulated in the country, how can the civic body expect us to provide documents in the name of the importer? This is absurd,” said Rakesh Yadav, a pet owner.
Rashmi Vaidya, the pet parent of Scotch and Golden Retriever, said she would be happy to pay the registration fee if the civic body used it for the welfare of the dogs.
Dr. Sandeep Yadav, Veterinarian and Surgeon, SKRD Veterinary Hospital, Sector 31, said that the entire exercise of dog registration could be futile in the absence of a mechanism to ascertain the identity of registered pets. The effort of the civic body for dog registration is commendable. But the current registration process does not have a robust mechanism to establish the identity of a registered pet,” he said.