The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday ordered issue of notice to the State government and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike on a plea to enforce norms on dog owners to carry biodegradable poop bags in public parks, and permit pets in public parks if pet owners leash th dogs and carry poop bags with them.
A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum passed the order on a PIL petition filed by M/s Compassion Unlimited Plus Action, an animal welfare organisation.
Lack of responsibility
The petitioner has pointed out that there is an increasing lack of responsibility displayed by some pet owners, who refuse to carry disposable poop bags or other appropriate arrangements to pick up the litter caused by their pets’ excretion.
This has resulted in animosity between the public and pet parents in general, thereby resulting in certain public parks imposing an absolute pet ban on entry of pets on the park premises.
It has been pointed out in the petition that the BBMP has failed to enforce guidelines issued on August 24, 2020, by the Government for Resident Welfare Associations and Apartment Owners’ Associations, pet owners and those who feed stray dogs, mandating that pets are always on least when outside home/in a public place; and clean up place of pet defecates on lawns, outside someone’s home, on public street/park.
The petitioner sought direction to the authorities to enforce the guidelines by imposing penalties under the provisions of BBMP’s Sold Waste Management Bylaw, 2020, which imposes responsibilities on owners of pet to clean up the littering by pets in public places.
Designated park
Pointing out that the city has only one unofficially designated ‘dog park’ inside Cubbon Park where dogs can be walked with exclusion of general public that too only on Sundays for a few hours, the petitioner has contended that imposing a total ban on taking dogs into all public parks will not be practical as dogs need to be walked for their overall health, and the solution would be to discipline the pet owners instead.
