UP govt asks Ghaziabad and other districts to ban 23 dog breeds

The Uttar Pradesh government officials have written to all chief veterinary officers asking them to implement ban on the import, sale, and breeding of 23 “ferocious” dog breeds as they have been deemed a “threat to human life”.
The officials in Ghaziabad said the veterinary department and the municipal corporation will implement the directions at the earliest.
According to officials, the list of banned dog breeds includes Pit Bull, Tosa inu, American Staffordshire terrier, Fila-brasileiro, Dogo Argentino, American bulldog, Boerboel, Kangal, Central Asian Shepherd Dog, Caucasian Shepherd Dog, South Russian Shepherd, Tornjak, Sarplaninac, Japanese Tosa and Akita, Rottweiler, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Canario, Akbash dog, and Cane Corso, among others.
“The directions have come from the Centre to the state government and finally we have been directed to implement the ban on 23 dog breeds as mentioned in the directions. The municipal corporation and our department will start implementing the ban immediately. We will also be reaching out to the breeding centres in order to ensure that no breeding of these 23 breeds takes place in the district. Proper legal action will be initiated against any violation,” said Dr SP Pandey, chief veterinary officer, Ghaziabad.
The corporation board in October 2022 banned three dog breeds — Rottweiler, Dogo Argentino and Pit Bull – on the grounds that the three breeds were more “aggressive” than others. The officials then had given a last opportunity to owners of the three breeds to get their pets registered by December 31, 2022.
“We will now act as per directions related to these 23 dog breeds. The existing pets of these breeds will be allowed and will be given some time for registration. The owners will have to get the pets vaccinated and also produce a sterilisation certificate to the corporation before they are registered. However, we will not issue any new registrations,” said Dr Anuj Singh, corporation chief veterinary and social welfare officer.
On March 12, Centre’s department of animal husbandry and dairying had written to chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories that it has been receiving representation from various citizens, citizens’ forum and animal welfare organisations to ban some of the breeds of dogs as pets.
Later, it added, that the department had constituted an expert committee, under the chairmanship of animal husbandry commissioner with members from the various stakeholder organisations and experts, which identified the said breeds of dogs as “ferocious” and dangerous to human life”.
However, animal rights activists believe that banning dog breeds is not the right way forward.
“Banning dog breeds is not a solution. Instead, the focus of pet owners of any breed should be to properly train their pets and provide them better environment. So, it mostly depends on pet owners how his/her pet behaves. The directions will also prove positive in the sense that Indian dog breeds will get preference and more pet owners will adopt them,” said Surbhi Rawat, president, People for Animal (Ghaziabad).