Pet dog owners in the city may have to keep their pets under control. File image for representation.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar
It seems like the days of carefree pet ownership in Bhubaneswar are numbered. Pet dog owners in the city may have to keep their pets under control, otherwise they may have to cough up a fine up to ₹10,000 for violation of stringent guidelines, proposed by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).
If provisions of draft guidelines are to believed, the Corporation will no more allow breeding of dogs for commercial purposes and trading of dogs within the area of BMC jurisdiction. The owner would have to ensure that his or her pet does not defecate in public places.
Keeping in check
The BMC has come up with Municipal Corporation (Registration and Proper Control of Dogs) By-Laws 2023, which will be put up for discussion in the forthcoming corporation meeting. The civic body has framed the guideline for pet dogs after an eight-year-old boy was brutally mauled by one in Tapaswini Colony in November 2022. The boy had suffered multiple wounds and received 10 stitches, besides painful injections.
Under the new guideline, pet owners would have to own up responsibility of their pets, undergo a well-defined registration process and cannot let their pets roam free.
“The breeding of dogs for commercial purposes and trading of dogs within the area of BMC will not be permitted. In case it is found that a dog is being kept for breeding or trading or commercial purposes by a person, the registration authority will impound such a dog besides imposing the fine as fixed by BMC Commissioner,” says the draft guideline.
“The owner of the dog shall not allow the dog to defecate in public places such as residential areas, green belts, parks, streets, roads, road berms and other common places. In case the dog defecates, the owner shall arrange to get the excreta of the dog removed from the said place at his own level,” it says.
The owner of the dog will take his dog to defecate in isolated areas which are not visited by residents and other members of the public, while no owner will allow the dog to defecate near the residences of other persons.
Other instructions include all ferocious dogs would have to be duly muzzled and a stick would have to be carried by the escort accompanying the dog while taking it out. Dogs are required to be chained or leashed outside home premises. The pet owner would have to compensate for the bites or any harm caused by the dog.
“If the owner fails to comply with the order of registering authority and fails to keep his dangerous dog in proper control then Registering Authority may, in consultation with the veterinary department and local animal welfare organisation , may order for taking to custody and subsequent action as per Dog Rule,” says the draft guideline.
An owner of a dog who violates by-laws would be liable to be punished by a registration authority with a fine, which may extend to ₹10,000 and if the violation is perpetual in nature, then with an additional fine which may extend to ₹200 per day, for a maximum of 7 days for continuation of the breach.
If the dog is seized or detained under these by-laws, the owner would have to pay maintenance charges at ₹200 per day to claim the dog. The draft by-laws have provisions of auctioning seized dogs if the owner continues to violate conditions.