BBMP law to leash pet dog owners

BBMP law to leash pet dog owners
By S Lalitha, DH News Service, Bangalore:
In a bid to make owners of pet dogs more responsible, the BBMP will bring in amendments to the existing by-law on dogs in its statute book. The move is also an effort to exploit the availability of the existing technology.


BBMP Deputy Commissioner of Health Vasanth Rao (who holds additional charge as DC, Resources) told Deccan Herald that a six-member committee was working on the kind of changes to be incorporated. “The existing bylaw is outdated and dates back to 1965. The changes will be introduced next month after its final report is ready.”
It has been made mandatory for pet dogs owners to have licences but it has not been implemented so far, he said.

“The enforcement will be made strict shortly.” In addition, the dog collars proposed for the dogs will have RFID technology which will make it very easy to trace a missing dog.

The thrust in campaigns by BBMP has been concentrated on stray dogs so far. Much attention will be paid to pet dogs in the proposed changes, Rao said.

“A database of all pet dogs in the City will be created and it will maintain details, particularly whether the pets have been injected the anti-rabies vaccine.”

Pet dogs are responsible for a considerable number of dog bites in the City which most people do not realise, Rao said.
“The anti-rabies vaccine provided free of cost in dog-bite cases ranges between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 and was a major expense for the BBMP,” the Deputy Commissioner said.

Expensive

“Within a six-hour period, a single vaccine can be used for four people but most of the time, it is not four people who are available to take it and it gets used only for one individual.” If we are able to check out if the dog that has bitten has already been injected with a vaccine, then we could save the costs incurred, he added.
A major menace was the defecation caused by pets when taken out on walks.

“Specific areas where the dogs could be taken for walks might be identified or we may make it mandatory for the owners to clean up the mess.”

The BBMP would hold talks with many resident associations within the next ten days to gather their views about it, Rao said.