BMC likely to seize your dog, if you don't have licence

Mumbai: Keeping a pet dog at home without a licence might result in getting your dog seized by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). To curb diseases caused by animals, the civic body is planning to make norms for keeping a pet dog more stringent, which will also make giving rabies and leptospirosis vaccines to pet dogs compulsory.

Under section 191(A) of the MMC Act, it is mandatory for owners of pet dogs to obtain a licence. The BMC charges Rs 105 for providing a license and then Rs 100 for its renewal every year.

According to civic officials, though the licence was mandatory for pet dogs, it was not implemented strictly. However, in view of the rising cases of dog bites in recent years, the BMC has decided to get strict with the implementation of norms. According to civic data, a total 1,09,563 dog bite cases were reported in the city from March 2017 to February 2018.

The act has a provision that a dog can be seized if the owner fails to obtain a license or renew it every year. “We have decided to implement the act strictly. We will first send notices to the owner, if he does not have a licence for the pet dog. If he still fails to get it, his dog will be seized and kept at BMC’s animal welfare centre at Parel. It will be returned to him only after he obtains or renews the license,” said a senior civic official.

“For the effective implementation of the act, we have decided to appoint veterinary doctors in each of seven administrative zones. They will visit housing societies in their areas to survey the pet dogs. Accordingly, notices will be sent to the owners, who have not obtained licences,” said Dr Yogesh Shetye, general manage, Deonar Abattoir.