BBMP comes up with a doggone idea

BANGALORE: If you own a Labrador and a Dachshund, be prepared to part with one.For, if the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) gets a nod from its legal department, it plans to restrict the number of dogs you can own to one.According to Parvez Ahmad Piran, BBMP’s Joint Director (Animal Husbandry), the Palike was still studying the proposal. “We are getting letters from people who are opposed to the new draft rule. They say the Palike cannot restrict the number of pets they can own,” he said. He said they are checking whether the Palike’s plan to restrict the number of pet dogs was “undemocratic”.Piran added it will take at least 15 days for them (Animal Husbandry Department) to seek the legal department’s opinion. When contacted, Geetha Shashikumar, chairperson to Standing Committee (Health), said the matter had come up before the committee once.However, it has not been finalised yet. “The Animal Husbandry Department has to send the file to the commissioner for approval and later it will come to the Standing Committee,” she said.According to a senior official from the Palike, BBMP is drafting new rules on pet dogs. As the city was witnessing an increasing number of dog bite cases, the Palike is taking up the animal birth control measures (ABC) in a full-fledged manner.However, ABC is restricted to stray dogs. In order to distinguish pet dogs from strays, the Palike planned to issue licences to pet dogs. And when the matter came up for discussion at the meeting, a question on how many pet dogs from one house could be issued a licence was raised. It was then that officials and elected representatives are said to have suggested a one dog licence per house.