11 dog breeds face ban by Gurgaon consumer forum

“The MCG is directed to cancel all the licence/s if any issued in this regard in favour of the dog owners for keeping the above-cited pet dogs with immediate effect and take into its custody the aforesaid dogs immediately,” the forum said.

The forum also directed the MCG to make registration of pet dogs mandatory with effect from November 15, 2022, within a month and to issue licence/s in respect thereof, at a fee of at least Rs 12,000 per year with a renewal fee every year of not less than Rs 10,000 per year.

“Every registered dog shall wear a collar to which shall be attached a metal token coupled with a metal chain. The MCG is directed to require that one family will keep only one dog and that whenever the registered dog is taken to public places, its mouth shall be properly covered with a net cap or otherwise…,” the order said.

It further said that for those found violating the aforesaid provisions, his/her dog shall be immediately taken into custody by the MCG and a fine of “not less than Rs 20,000 and extending upto Rs 2 lakh” will be imposed on the violator and in default of the provisions, he will incur “imprisonment not less than one month which may extend upto two years”.

The forum also directed MCG to take all stray dogs within its limits into custody with immediate effect and keep them in dog ponds or at a place maintained by the MCG near Basai village with the help of NGOs. “For stray dogs, in case of dog bite cases, the minimum compensation shall not be less than Rs 20,000 and which may extend up to Rs 2 lakh depending on the nature and gravity of the injuries suffered by the victim,” it said, adding that the civic body was further directed to frame appropriate rules in light of these directions within three months.

While announcing the compensation to the complainant, the forum also directed the MCG to take custody of the dog (Dogo Argentino) immediately from its owner and to cancel their license.

The incident had taken place in August 2022, when a woman, Munni, who worked as a maid, was attacked by a pet dog when she was on her way to work. She had suffered injuries on her head and following the incident, an FIR was registered.

“The medical record placed depicts that the complainant had to undergo a protracted follow-up medical treatment in Safdarjung hospital by paying repeated visits…,” it said, adding that since the owner had blatantly violated the law of the land and rules framed for having kept a banned breed (Dogo Argentino) as a pet dog, so the MCG is put at liberty to recover Rs 2 lakh from the dog owner if it so desires.