On 6th December (Wednesday), the Delhi High Court asked the Union government to expeditiously make a decision, preferably within three months, on a representation to ban and cancel licenses for the possession of “dangerous” dog breeds like Pitbulls, Terriers, American Bulldogs, and Rottweilers.
Notably, the petition was filed in October. The matter is being heard by a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and it also includes Justice Mini Pushkanra. The court asked the petitioner to let the authorities ‘take a call’ on this matter, noting that they were the ones who needed to draft the relevant laws and regulations on this issue.
The court ordered, “They (the authorities) shall decide representation as expeditiously as possible, preferably within three months.”
During the proceedings, the bench also emphasised the need to promote the local breeds of dogs stressing that they are “sturdy”. The court observed, “Indian breeds need to be taken care of. They are far more sturdy. They don’t fall sick that often because they have acclimatised. Today we are vocal for local.”
The Counsel of the Union government apprised the Delhi High Court that the representation has already been sent to the department concerned and a decision will be taken after consulting with stakeholders.
Earlier, on 5th October, a division bench headed by then Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma had refused to entertain the petitioner’s PIL on the issue. The court directed the petitioner that they should first approach the government authorities with their grievance.
The petition filed by Legal Attorneys and Barristers Law Firm alleges that dog breeds like Bulldogs, Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, Terriers, and Neapolitan Mastiffs are “dangerous dogs”. It noted that these “dangerous” breeds of dogs are banned in more than 12 countries including India. However, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi was still registering them to be kept as pets, the petition added.
Additionally, it brought the court’s attention to several incidents of such dog breeds attacking people including their owners.
The petition stated, “lt is the need of the hour to ban and cancel the license to keep dogs such as Pitbull, Terriers, American bulldogs, Rottweilers, Japanese Tosa, Bandog, Neapolitan Mastiff, Wolf Dog, Boerboel, Presa Canario, Fila Brasileiro, Tosa Inu, Cane Corso, Dogo Argentino and crossbreeds of above-mentioned dogs.”
According to the petitioners, it is the duty of the Centre and the state government to act as a welfare state and to take preemptive action to save the lives of the citizens from the risk of any major dog bite incident by these “dangerous” breeds.
