Animal activists have flagged concerns over a recent order by the Madras High Court revoking the ban on importing of dogs for breeding. They say the move is unnecessary as there is an overload of dogs in the State and it will give way to exploitation of dogs in the hands of commercial breeders.
The High Court on June 6 set aside a notification by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade’s (DGFT) ban on importing dogs for commercial breeding and directed the State government to formulate a set of regulations. “While the insistence on regulations is welcome, it is not likely to be enforced properly,” said Arun Prasanna, founder, People for Cattle in India.
Mr. Prasanna said importing dogs for breeding was not required as there were a lot of dogs already in the State and commercial breeders were known to keep the dogs in poor conditions. “They [dogs] are considered breeding machines and are treated the way animals are used in factory farms,” he said.
Calling for the regulation of current internal system, Shravan Krishnan of Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary (BMAD) said all the “backyard breeding” done now would not come under any regulatory purview. “Shelters in the city already have several abandoned pedigree dogs,” he said.
Shruti Vinod Raj, member of Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board, said the board receives four to five complaints every month on cruelty by unregulated breeders. There is also the aspect of health risks to breeds originally from cold countries as the State’s weather is not conducive to dogs that are double coated, said Ms. Shruti.
Breeds such as Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Muffin, Mastiff are not meant for our climatic conditions, she stressed.
“Foreign breeds surviving here is a huge stress on the animal,” said Mr. Krishnan, adding that revoking the ban on importing is not at all necessary.
