No excuses for not registering your pet dogs online

To encourage dog owners to get their pets registered, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is all set to start the online facility of issuance of the ‘registration certificate’. The scheme will be launched on August 23, after which the owners can get the certificate issued within a day while sitting at home.

Gunjan Uppal, resident of Vasant Kunj C-6, has four dogs. Of them three are strays.(S Burmaula / HT Photo)

As per the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act 1957 (sector 399) registration of a dog is mandatory, but a majority of people don’t register their pets because of the cumbersome process. “With this scheme, owners can get their pets registered easily. The process is simple, transparent and hassle-free,” said Dr RBS Tyagi, director, veterinary department, SDMC.

According to an estimate by the SDMC, there are two lakh pets in south Delhi and only 500 pets are registered . A senior official of SDMC said the civic body has been lenient so far, but if the owners still fail to get their pet dogs registered then one might face action. They can be challaned. For not getting the pet dogs registered under sector 399, the SDMC can challan the owner Rs 200. It can also impound the pet dog, if required.

Gunjan Uppal, resident of Vasant Kunj C-6, has four dogs. Of them three are strays whom she rescued but couldn’t get all of them registered. She said, “Taking a dog to SDMC office is actually a difficult task. Also, I didn’t know which all documents needed to be submitted. I have got only one dog registered so far,” said Uppal, who is part of the group Co-Existence that motivates people to adopt dogs.

To popularise the concept, the civic agency will adopt various mediums of advertising such as hoardings and advertisements in newspapers and magazines. An applicant can download the form from SDMC’s website. The documents that needed to be submitted are anti-rabies vaccination certificate, a photograph of the animal, residence proof and identity proof of the owner. The SDMC will charge Rs 511 for the registration process.

Benefits of Pet Registration

Dr Tyagi said that the process will help in maintaining the exact count of pet dogs that are vaccinated in different zones. “It will help in tracing a missing pet with the help of a registration number that the dog will sport. Moreover, if any dog bite case is reported, the dog won’t be detained or impounded by the corporation which has been a procedure till now,” he said.

The civic agency has four zones, central, south, west and Najafgarh, and according to officials, the most number of pets are in south zone. But even those living in bungalows and farmhouses in Defence Colony, Lajpat Nagar, Chhatarpur and Dwarka don’t get their pets registered, said the SDMC official.

“People don’t want to get involved in tedious process of pet registration. That’s why only about 500 dogs, according to a rough estimate, in the SDMC jurisdiction have been registered so far,” he said. The SDMC believes that the number will jump up to two lakh within next 12 months.

Animal lovers appreciate SDMC’s move

According to Sahil Nirman, animal rights activist and resident of Vasant Kunj, online pet registration is a good initiative, but not many people are actually aware that it’s mandatory to get your pets registered. He suggested that the SDMC should create awareness among people.

“For animal rights activists, who bring strays to shelters, the registration will be of great help because there are times when these dogs go missing. Sometimes SDMC picks them up for sterilisation or immunisation. Then it becomes difficult to claim them or file a missing report because we have no proof of their ownership. Now with the help of registration certificate we will be able to get them back.”

Nirman also believes that the corporation should take strict action against people who abandon pet dogs on roads or dump them in animal shelters after they get infected.