The Bombay High Court on Thursday issued notices to the Central government and the Maharashtra government and sought their responses to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition challenging the circular imposing a ban on 23 breeds of dogs.
The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying) issued a circular on March 12 asking all the states to ensure that no licences or permissions are issued for the sale, breeding, and keeping of certain dog breeds “dangerous for human life”.
A Pune - based NGO Animal Rescue Trust has approached the high court seeking quashing of the circular. In the interim, it has sought stay on the implementation of the circular stating that the ban is arbitrary and bad in law.
The bench, however, noted that the Calcutta bench has already granted a partial stay on the circular. “No further executive order or decision has been taken by any authority in Maharashtra based on that circular. We want to first see what the Union government has to say,” a bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor said.
Bombay HC Seeks Union Government's Response
The plea claimed that the ban has been imposed on 23 different dog breeds without inviting suggestions from all the stakeholders. “The circular is non-factual without any scientific proof of ferocity of the said breeds and is based on a random dog bite incident,” the plea read.
It pointed out that similar petitions challenging the circulars, wherein some high courts have stayed the implementation of the circular.
The ban lacks any scientific study, empirical evidence or a comprehensive study and is hence arbitrary. Such a ban would aggravate cruelty against such breeds, the PIL added.
Bombay High Court to Hear Case on June 24
The circular, that was issued based on recommendations from an Expert Committee, prohibits the importing, breeding, selling, and keeping of certain dog breeds, including cross-breeds, citing concerns about their potential danger to human life. The local bodies were directed to enforce the ban and sterilise existing pets of the prohibited breeds.
The circular mentioned “breeds (including mixed and cross breeds) like Pitbull Terrier, Tosa Inu, American Staffordshire Terrier, Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Argentino, American Bulldog, Boerboel, Kangal, Central Asian Shepherd Dog (ovcharka), Caucasian Shepherd Dog (ovcharka), South Russian Shepherd Dog (ovcharka), Tornjak, Sarplaninac, Japanese Tosa and Akita, Mastiffs (boerbulls), Rottweiler, Terriers, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Wolf Dogs, Canario, Akbash dog, Moscow Guard dog, Cane corso, and every dog of the type commonly known as a Ban Dog (or Bandog)”.
The HC has make the matter for hearing on June 24.
