BBMP Proposes New Pet By-Laws In Bengaluru

As per new pet by-laws proposed by BBMP (Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike), which is quite likely to be approved – only one pet dog will be allowed per flat in Bengaluru. The pet dog should have a collar with a badge and microchip. Another clause added by BBMP would now make it compulsory for dog owners to clean up after their dog. Aggressive dog breeds such as Pit Bulls, Hounds, Rottweilers must be muzzled while taking them to public places such as parks or society premises.

Some more new rules have been proposed in the draft created by BBMP and submitted to Urban Development Department (UDD). Since long, there haven’t been any pet registration laws in Bengaluru similar to New Delhi, Chandigarh or Chennai, where pet registration has been made mandatory by respective Municipal Corporations. However, as per section 344 of Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, keeping and feeding animals and birds without the permission of Municipal commissioner or concerned officer is strictly prohibited.

It states – No person shall,

(a) without the permission of the Commissioner or otherwise than in conformity with the terms of such permission, keep pigs in any part of the city;

(b) keep any animal or bird on his premises so as to be a nuisance or so as to be dangerous; or

(c) feed or permit of be fed on filth any animal, which is kept for dairy purposes or may be used for food.

The Animal Husbandry Division of BBMP has issued over 2,100 pet licenses in Benglauru so far. Initially a draft was submitted by BBMP with modified by-laws for pet dogs licensing in 2013, however, this was not introduced due to objections from AWBI (Animal Welfare Board of India). The UDD sent back the draft with some observations aligned with objections by the AWBI. Taking those into considerations, BBMP has re-drafted the pet by-laws and sent it to UDD for approval.

Re-drafted Pet By-Laws in Focus

• Cleaning up after your dog: This law would ensure dog owner’s responsibility to clean the poop of pet dogs from public places and dispose it in garbage. If failed to comply, the first offense would cost Rs. 100 and the no. of repeat offenses would multiply the fine. For example: 3 time offense would cost Rs. 300 and so on for subsequent times

• 1 Pet Dog Per Flat, 3 Pet Dogs Per Independent House: The focus on this draft is on limiting the number of dogs that are being kept in society flats and independent houses. A flat owner in Bengaluru can foster or keep only one dog at a time, while an independent house owner can keep upto 3 dogs.

• Pet dogs that stray will be captured: The revised pet by-laws would also authorize any officer from BBMP to capture pet dogs that are found straying in public places without an owner. The captured dog would be checked for owner contact information on the collar or microchip, if no collar or microchip found, then the authority has the permission to keep the dog in their dog house or be even killed if found suffering from Rabies. The dog can be freed with Re. 1 as fine for licensed dogs and Re. 2 as fine for unlicensed dogs. Owners will be requested to notify AWBI with a specific identification mark during licensing to help identify the dogs later.

• Penalty for violating laws: If a dog owner fails to obtain license for their pet dogs from the BBMP, and caught later – a fine of Rs 1,000 will be imposed for the first time. In case of continuing breach of this law, a Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 fine will be charged per day until the violation stops and the pet is registered.

• Specific breeds allowed in flats: In the previous draft BBMP shared 64 breeds that are allowed to be kept in the residential flats. In the new draft they had also proposed 15 aggressive dog breeds – Rottweiler, Pit Bull, Bull Terrier, German Shepherd, Doberman Pincher, Akita,  Boerboel, Fila Brasileiro, Nepolitan Mastiff, Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Mastiffs and similar cross breeds that must be muzzled all times when in public places.

Here is a PDF Comparison Between Present & Proposed Modified Pet By-Laws:

Do you agree with the proposed pet by-laws by BBMP? Share your thoughts in the comments below!