UP Cities Lay Down New Rules for Dog Owners

New rules for dog owners were allocated after several cases of attacks by vicious dogs were reported in the state over the past few months.

Lucknow: Owners will now be accountable for the behavior of their pet dogs in Uttar Pradesh. The Urban Development Department in Uttar Pradesh has broadcasted a new set of dos and don’ts to all the urban local bodies related to the 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 pets will not cause any nuisance publicly.

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

A set of rules have also been applied 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 will 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 would be implemented while allowing the registration of dogs in the coming days.

The policy will not apply to Noida as it is an industrial area governed by the industry’s development department and has its own rules for 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. They must adhere to the guidelines framed by the Animal Welfare Board of India.

The idea is to make 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 masters 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 pet’s registration number along with details such as the owner’s name, address, and contact number.

The chip must 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 the 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.