The Centre’s move to ban ‘ferocious dogs’ is commendable, say experts from animal rights groups

After six different High Courts last month decided to quash or stay the Centre’s circular banning 23 breeds of ‘ferocious’ dogs, several animal rights groups and experts have come out in support of the government’s breed-specific ban initiative .

On March 12, the Ministry of Fisheries, Livestock and Dairying issued a circular banning the import, breeding and sale of 24 ‘savage’ dog breeds, including the pit bull terrier, the American Staffordshire terrier, the Argentine dogo, the American bulldog, etc.

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While the High Courts of Kerala, Madras, Rajasthan and West Bengal stayed the circular, the High Courts of Delhi and Karnataka quashed it and directed the ministry to give all stakeholders an opportunity to express their objections before issuing a new circular.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has supported the initiative to ban ‘savage’ dog breeds.

“The central government circular was responsibly intended to prevent pit bull breeds from being mauled in illegal dogfights and to protect civilians from attacks by dogs bred to be unstoppable weapons,” PETA said.

“There are 80 million dogs and cats suffering on the streets of India, and animal shelters are overcrowded, and pit bulls and related breeds are the most abandoned dog breeds in India,” the animal rights group also said in its statement.

It added: “PETA India will call on the central government to take this opportunity to see how the circular can be further strengthened to protect these vulnerable dog breeds, which have been largely bred to be abused, and benefit more Indian citizens protect against attacks.”

Gauri Maulekhi, a prominent animal welfare activist and trustee of People for Animals, said The Hindu“India has four million street dogs who are homeless. Propagating or breeding more dogs of any kind – let alone the foreign variety – is in principle not in the interest of the country.”

She said that the import of foreign dog breeds into India should be banned.

“People should adopt Indian dogs if they need to,” says Ms Maulekhi. “Given the hot Indian weather, keeping cold rural dogs like huskies and Saint Bernards is cruel to them anyway,” she added.

“Dogs like Rottweilers and Dobermans, which need a lot of exercise, are sometimes kept in flats, which is harmful to them. And if you are cruel to an animal, their stress manifests itself in the form of conflict with people,” said the animal welfare activist.

Varda Mehrotra, animal rights expert and founder of Samayu, a non-profit organization, said, “Banning certain breeds of dogs that are not suitable for Indian conditions is a commendable step.”

However, she said the ban must be practical in terms of its implementation so that it does not lead to an increase in pet abandonment or harassment of pet owners.

On the other hand, the petitioners who had challenged the Centre’s circular in the Supreme Court had argued that it had no scientific basis and was not based on any research.

The petitioners said the circular lacked a comprehensive framework or research-backed methodology to define what exactly constitutes a “savage breed” and how the selected breeds fit into this classification.

They further stated that enforcing breed-specific legislation can be challenging, especially when determining a dog’s breed is not easy or when dealing with mixed-breed dogs.