The Madras High Court has stayed the operation of a letter written by a Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying on March 12 asking the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories to ban the sale and breeding of certain dogs classified as “ferocious and dangerous for human life” besides insisting upon sterilization of those dogs already being used as pets.
Justice Anita Sumanth also stayed a consequential instruction issued by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on March 14 asking its officials to prevent the import of those dogs. The interim orders were passed on a writ petition filed by Kennel Club of India (KCI), represented by its secretary and treasurer C.V. Sudarshan, challenging the Joint Secretary’s letter as well as CBIC’s instruction.
Editorial | Ferocious friends: On certain breeds of dogs and public safety
Senior counsel R. Srinivas, representing KCI, said, a law firm had filed a public interest litigation petition in the Delhi High Court last year seeking a ban on dog breeds such as Pitbull, Terriers, American Bulldog, Rottweiler, Japanese Tosa, Bandog, Neapolitan Mastiff, Wolf Dog, Boerboel, Presa Canario, Fila Brasileiro, Tosa Inu, Cane Corso, Dogo Argentino and the cross breeds of all those dogs by terming them to be “dangerous.”
A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court had disposed of the PIL petition on December 6, 2023 after recording the submission of a central government standing counsel that the law firm’s representation shall be considered after consulting all stakeholders. However, no such consultation took place and KCI, despite being a major stakeholder, was kept in the dark before the Joint Secretary’s letter, he said.
He said, the letter claims that an expert committee had identified as ferocious “breeds (including mixed and cross breeds) like Pitbull Terrier, Tosa Inu, American Staffordshire Terrier, Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Argentino, American Bulldog, Boerboel, Kangal, Central Asian Shepherd, Caucasian Shepherd, South Asian Shepherd, Tornjak, Sarplaninac, Japanese Tosa, Akita, Mastiffs (boerbulls), Rottweiler, Terriers, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Wolf dogs, Canario, Akbash, Moscow Guard, Cane Corso and every dog of the type commonly known as Bandog.”
Stating that the term ‘expert committee’ used in the letter was a misnomer, Mr. Srinivas said, the committee did not appear to have even a basic understanding about dogs since even the most loyal breeds in the world had been termed as ferocious and dangerous for human life. He said, the Japanese had built a statue for a dog named Hachiko, belonging to the Akita Inu breed, for having been very loving towards its owner.
Therefore, “the decision to categorise specific breeds of dogs as ferocious and dangerous for human life is ill-informed, ignorant and absurd,” the senior counsel said and highlighted that there was no empirical data, study or research to come to such a conclusion. He claimed that the letter appeared to have been issued at the instance of a few vested interests who were out to destroy pure breed dog breeding, the pet industry and the dog shows.
“There are no bad dogs. There are just bad owners. A dog of any breed can be trained, socialized and made friendly. Likewise, any dog if left untrained or uncared for or abused can become ferocious or dangerous to humans,” he added.
