An expert committee constituted by the Department of Animal Welfare and Husbandry, Ministry of Agriculture, has recommended that certain breeds of “ferocious dogs” be prohibited from being kept as pets.
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An official letter has gone out from the department to all States listing out these dog breeds as well as instructions to no longer register licences that permit their sale.
The expert committee was constituted after citizen groups complained of attacks on people — sometimes fatal — by these dogs. There is also a petition being deliberated upon in the Delhi High Court requesting it to ban certain breeds. The High Court, in December 2023 had said it would decide on the issue “in three months.”
The breeds include mixed and crossbreeds like Pitbull Terrier, Tosa Inu, American Staffordshire Terrier, Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Argentino, American Bulldog, Boerboel, Kangal, Central Asian Shepherd Dog, Caucasian Shepherd Dog, South Mastiffs, Rottweiler, Terrier, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Wolf Dogs, Canario, Akbash dog, Moscow guard dog, Cane corso and dogs commonly classified as Bandog.
These rules are expected to be implemented by local authorities. Dogs that have already been kept as pets must be sterilised to ensure that further breeding does not happen, said the letter dated March 12 and signed by O.P. Chaudhary, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture.