Chandigarh Bans 6 Aggressive Dog Breeds Including Pitbull, Rottweiler

The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh has banned six aggressive dog breeds, including American Bulldog, American Pitbull and Bull Terrier, for public safety, as it notified the Pet and Community Dogs Bye-laws.

The three other breeds are Cane Corso, Dogo Argentino and Rottweiler.

However, it will not be applicable for those who already have any of these breeds, the notification said.

The Chandigarh administration on Wednesday notified 'The Municipal Corporation Chandigarh Pet and Community Dogs Bye-Laws, 2025'.

According to the notification, for the safety of the public, certain breeds of dogs considered as aggressive, potentially aggressive, and dangerous are banned within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh.

The banned dog breeds will not be registered after due notification of these by-laws, it noted.

"However, a buffer period of 45 days shall be allowed for existing owners to register their dogs. After this period, any owner, pet breeder, pet shopkeeper/owner found breeding, keeping, or harbouring these banned breeds will be subject to penalties as per the bye-laws, including immediate seizure of the dog(s) by authorised authorities," it said.

This clause will not be applicable to the dog owners who already have any of these dogs duly registered with the municipal corporation before the due notification of these bye-laws.

However, such dog owners need to ensure their dog(s) are muzzled at all times during walking and leashed with equipment strong enough to keep them under control to avoid any untoward incident.

It is advised to get such dogs trained through dog trainers registered with the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh for docile and controlled behaviour to avoid any unwanted incident, reads the notification.

The registration of dogs will be mandatory, as per the byelaws.

A family may keep one dog in up to a five marla house (one marla is equal to over 25 square yards approximately), if three floors, one dog on each floor, 2 dogs in a house less than 12 marla, three dogs in a house less than one kanal and four dogs in a one kanal (20 marla) house, according to the notified byelaws.

The owner of the dogs should not take them to the area of Sukhna Lake, Rose Garden, Shanti Kunj, Rock Garden, Leisure Valley, Bougainvillaea Garden, Chandigarh Botanical Garden, Sarangpur and other public places or gardens as notified by the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation Chandigarh, from time to time, it said.

No person should permit their pet dogs to defecate in any public place, including but not limited to residential areas, green belts, parks, streets, roads, road berms, and other common areas, except within their own premises.

If the dogs defecate in a public space, the owner shall scoop up the excrement and place it in a poop bag and dispose of the waste via a proper disposal method/equipment; a penalty will be imposed on the owner.

No owner should allow the dogs to defecate near the residences of other persons, annoying them, said the notification.

The byelaws also mandated that dog breeders, pet shop owners, trainers and groomers will have to register themselves with the civic body.

According to the notification, it is the responsibility of the caregivers or occasional feeders to ensure that the feeding of community dogs and ownerless dogs occurs at a place designated by the Municipal Corporation and to ensure cleanliness to avoid any littering during the feeding of dogs.

Whoever throws eatables in a public place, other than those designated by the municipal corporation, thereby enticing community dogs, causing danger to human life, likely injury, annoyance to the public and or hindrance in smooth vehicular traffic, should be deemed to be guilty of an offence.

They will be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly as per the relevant provisions of the law as applicable, it said.

The civic body will have the authority to impound any pet dog found unattended at any residence causing nuisance through excessive barking, howling or left fastened unsupervised for extended periods, as well as any dog wandering in public places without supervision or control, as per the notification.

An owner violating these bylaws should be liable to be punished by the Registration Authority with fines.

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