Ghaziabad civic body gives Dec 31 deadline for registration of banned dog breeds

According to officials, they have so far served 40 notices to residents having dogs of Rottweiler, Dogo Argentino and Pit Bull breeds and only 12 have opted for registration so far

Ghaziabad: Officials of the Ghaziabad municipal corporation on Saturday extended the deadline to December 31 for owners of three dog breeds — Rottweiler, Dogo Argentino and Pit Bull — for final registration. The corporation board on October 15 gave a two-month deadline for the pet owners to register their dogs.

According to officials, they have so far given registration to 4,170 pet dogs. (HT Archive)

According to officials, they have so far served 40 notices to residents having these three dog breeds and only 12 have opted for registration so far.

“The deadline for registration of the three breeds is up to December 31 and thereafter no registrations will be done in accordance with the decision taken by the board. The 40 notices have been issued to people who have these three breeds and have not come for registration,” said Dr Anuj Singh, corporation’s chief veterinary and social welfare officer.

Singh said that once the date of registration lapses, the pet owners will have to pay ₹5,000 fine.

“Our teams will visit the households of pet owners and they will be issued a penalty of ₹5,000 per instance if they are not able to produce registration documents along with vaccination and sterilisation certificates,” Singh said.

According to official estimates, Ghaziabad city has an estimated 20,000 pet dogs, which also include the three breeds.

According to officials, they have so far given registration to 4,170 pet dogs.

“In the next board meeting, the modalities of action will be decided in case the pet owners do not register. Once the board decides the modalities, we will act accordingly,” Singh added.

The board took a decision to ban the registration of the three breeds of dogs and claimed they were more aggressive and allegedly involved in many cases of dog attacks.

“Any pet dog can become aggressive if it is not properly trained and the fault lies with the pet owners who do not train their dogs. The decision to stop registration seems to be biased against the owners of the three dog breeds. The pet owners, however, must register their dogs at the earliest,” said Ruchin Mehra, a Ghaziabad-based animal activist and a lawyer.