One dog, per home: Not the ideal rule say activists in Bengaluru

Recently, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), while announcing the new rules on pet licensing, shed light on the possibility of a one-dog-per-home policy, with an intent to curb illegal breeding. This has led to uncertainty in pet parents’ minds regarding the way forward.

Priya Chetty-Rajagopal, founder of CJ Memorial Trust, an animal welfare organisation that opposed the first BBMP pet licensing by-laws with the #NotWithoutMyDog campaign, clears the air: “The discussions happening have a lot to do with the opacity around pet licensing . Although the new by-laws were set around two years ago, I presume they are revisiting it to make more welfare-oriented. The one-dog-per-home rule may be a BBMP ideal, but it cannot be implemented city-wide.”

Rajagopal goes on to share, “There are three aspects to this move on pet licenses. One, it encourages adoption by waiving of the pet licensing fee for indies or rescues. Two, this is a prospective license and not a retrospective one, which it means that the BBMP cannot take away the dogs you already have at home. And three, BBMP is proposing all indie pet dogs to be neutered and vaccinated free of cost to promote indie adoption.” However, she is not in favour of the proposed rule: “I do not support this arbitrary idea of one dog per home. But, this move is about focusing on getting your pets vaccinated, rescuing indie dogs, reducing abuse and abandonment as pets are now licensed . This move will also help reduce illegal breeding in the city.”

Actor Aindrita Ray, an animal lover and activist, feels a move like this would be beneficial in ending illegal breeding. “I believe rescued dogs should be exempted from this rule, as it will encourage people to rescue more dogs and curb the issue of stray dog population in the city,” she says.

Swayambhu Soham, an animal activist, believes the one dog rule isn’t the right move forward: “Pet owners skip the cost of neutering and end up leaving them on the streets to mate, but ownership isn’t taken either. An upper limit on pets owned defeats the purpose as pet breeding will continue to happen, so I believe that neutering is the ultimate solution.”