Get pet dogs registered or face action, warns Chandigarh MC

The Municipal Corporation here has warned pet-owners of strict action, including impounding their dogs, if they fail to get their canines registered under the Chandigarh Registration of Pet Dogs byelaws, 2010.
"We have initiated a drive to strictly go against pet dog owners in the city who are not following the Pet Dogs bylaws," Joint Commissioner, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, Rajiv Gupta said today.
"We are asking those dog owners who have not got their pet dogs registered with us to do the same as early as possible. Otherwise, as per the byelaws, we will be issuing challans of Rs 500 per dog and can also impound their canines," Gupta said.

Under the drive, a team comprising officials of animal husbandry department conducted surprise checks at some pet shops in the city and issued challans to people who failed to adhere to the Pet Dogs byelaws 2010.
"The team will also visit public parks and gardens in morning and evening to check whether pet dog owners possess the registration," Gupta said.
The move comes in the wake of Municipal Corporation receiving numerous complaints from residents about defecation by dogs in public parks, gardens, public places and on roads in the city and increasing incidents of dog-bite.

"We do not want to punish pet dog owners. Rather we want that they should follow the law in the larger interest of public. It is the responsibility of owners to clean pet waste during outings," said Gupta.

As per Chandigarh Registration of Pet Dogs bylaws 2010, registration of every pet dog with the municipal corporation with complete details of its age, colour, breed etc is a must.
Also dog owners in the city cannot have more than two pets and they could not be taken to popular tourist destinations like Sukhna lake, famous gardens among others.
As per a census conducted by the Animal Husbandry department, there are about 10,000 pet dogs in the city, of which only 4,800 dogs were registered with the local Municipal Corporation. Besides, there are about 10,000 stray dogs in the city as well.

Officials have ascribed the low number of pet dog registration to insufficient manpower to carry out door-to-door survey.