UP Lays Down New Set of Rules for Dog Owners

Owners will now be accountable for the behaviour of their pet dogs in Uttar Pradesh.

The Urban Development Department in Uttar Pradesh has circulated a new set of dos and don’ts to all the urban local bodies related to registration of dogs.

All dog owners will now have to submit an undertaking to the local bodies that they are going to ensure that their pet will not cause any nuisance publicly.

Officials said that the decision has been taken as several cases of attacks by ferocious dogs have been reported in the state over the past few months.

A set of rules have been also laid down for breeders, residents welfare associations and individuals who adopt stray dogs in large numbers. Registration of stray dogs will be done without any fees.

Lucknow is going to be the first city in the state to implement the new rules.

Officials of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation said that the newly formulated standard operating procedure by the government is going to be implemented while allowing registration of dogs in the coming days.

The policy will not apply to Noida as it is an industrial area, governed by the industries development department, and has its own set of rules for the dog owners.

While registration of stray dogs will be done without any fees along with sterilization and first vaccination, individuals and resident groups looking to adopt five or more stray dogs will be treated at par with shelter homes and will have to adhere to the guidelines framed by Animal Welfare Board of India.

The idea is to make the dog owners accountable for the actions of their pets, stray dog lovers will also have to be equally cautious if they aspire to become a true master of their colony dogs.

The civic body that registers the pet will also have to provide a chip or a token to the dog owner, which will bear the registration number of the pet along with details such as owner’s name, address and contact number.

The chip will have to be fixed with the collar when the dog is taken out for a walk or other routine.

“If the dog is found without the chip while it is on road or out of the house in a public place, the municipal staff has been authorised to seize and take away such dogs to the government-run shelter homes. The local bodies will decide the penalty and will hand the dog back to their owner upon payment,” said a senior officer from the urban development department.

Circulated among the municipal commissioners and executive heads of the urban local bodies on Monday, the fresh SoPs finalized by the principal secretary of the urban development department, Amrit Abhijat, mentioned the set of rules that will have to be followed by breeders and sellers, shelter operators, individuals along with the format of the undertaking that is going to be taken from various stakeholders at the time of their registration.

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