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Dog lovers’, you're beloved pooch just might cost you. Especially, if you happen to have a pedigree and you have more than one of them.

Talk about a double whammy from out of the blue. Well, not quite.

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Blast from the Past:

The Bengaluru Bruhat Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) has decided to re-visit Section 344 Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act.

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Wondering what that is? Here’s a small primer.

In 2013, the BBMP had drafted a by-law for pet dogs. According to Section344, citizens are prohibited from keeping pets and feeding animals without prior permission from the concerned authority. It also disallows owners from keeping animals that are deemed dangerous or considered to be a nuisance.

According to , “The Urban Development Department had retained the draft bye-law for quite a long time in its shelf and sent it back to the BBMP’s Animal Husbandry section two months ago with some observations. Acting up on the observations of UDD and objections raised by Animal Welfare Board, the BBMP has now re-drafted the by-laws and sent it to UDD for its approval for the second time, on February 10th, 2016.”

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BBMP’s New Proposed Guidelines:

These are the proposed guidelines that have been sent for approval to the Urban Development Department by the BBMP.

All pet owners must acquire a licence and ensure that their pets are sterilised
All dogs must be micro-chipped at owner’s cost, have a badge and a collar with the licence information provided by the vet officer of BBMP
Large breeds such as German Shepherds, Great Danes, Rottweilers, Golden Retrievers among others will not be allowed in apartments
Owners can only have one medium-sized dog, if living in an apartment. An independent house owner can keep up to three dogs
Aggressive dog breeds like Pit Bulls and Rottweilers will have to be muzzled in public
Dog breeders must get licences, too
Owners will be fined if they don’t clean up after their dogs in public spaces. First-time offenders will be fined ₹100, repeated offenders will be fined double and subsequent times
Dogs in the absence of owners will be taken away. Fines to reclaim them back will be ₹1 and ₹2 for licensed and non-licensed dogs

Animal Activists and Illegal Dog Breeding:

Animal activists argue that the BBMP has missed the forest for the trees by ignoring the classic elephant in the room – dog breeders.

Dog breeders are a dime a dozen, and Bengaluru has emerged as the top city for illegal dog breeding activities.

The Hindu reports, “In 2016, the Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) came out with a report after investigating 15 illegal breeding centres spread across the city. The report furnished evidence of breeding centres operating out of terraces in residential areas and small cramped rooms in busy markets. Puppies are bred in inhumane conditions and sold on popular e-commerce sites.”

“First, the BBMP needs to restrict inhumane breeding. None of the breeders have licences to operate. Officials must issue licences only to those operating as per mandated conditions,” said R. Shantha Kumar, animal welfare officer, Animal Welfare Board of India.”