“The owners of the dogs must ensure that the dogs’ poop must be picked up/removed and put in a bag/container to be disposed of at home in a hygienic manner,” the court observed.

THE PUNJAB and Haryana High Court, in an order on Monday, directed the dog owners in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana to register their pets with municipal authorities concerned, who have been in turn directed to issue tokens to the owners. The order has been passed in a suo motu case, initiated by the high court in 2015, regarding the issue of stray dogs.

“All the dogs being taken to streets/roads must be collared besides being leashed. The municipal authorities shall maintain the record of all the licensed dogs within a period of three months from today,” the order read.

The division bench of Justices Rajiv Sharma and Harinder Singh Sidhu in the ruling said the stray dogs are a common sight in public places including parks, roads, streets and Sukhna lake area. It added there have been numerous cases of dogs bites.

“The owners take their dogs out for walk but do not pick up/remove their poop.The owners of the dogs must ensure that the dogs’ poop must be picked up/removed and put in a bag/container to be disposed of at home in a hygienic manner,” the court observed.

Calling the problem of stray dogs, a “nuisance” to the young and rapping the MCs for failing to address the issue, the court said, “Children belonging to the weaker sections of the society are vulnerable to dog bites. The municipal authorities have failed to seriously address the issue of putting an end to menace of stray dogs in their respective jurisdictions.” The court has also directed the municipal authorities to construct 4-5 dog pounds in their jurisdiction to house the stray dogs and has ordered them to ensure strict implementation and enforcement of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dog Breeding and Marketing) Rules, 2017. The court has further said that all the dog breeders would also need to be registered and banned the breeding of dogs without registration.

“The caretakers of dog pounds would ensure to protect the dogs from extreme whether conditions and to maintain proper ventilation and also to provide them appropriate space. All the dogs should be vaccinated and should be kept in clean environment. The surface of the pound should be cleaned regularly. There should be proper drainage and waste disposal. It should be the duty of the administration to provide uncontaminated and palatable food in sufficient quantity. The diet should be sufficient according to the age and health of dogs. All the dogs kept in the pounds should be vaccinated against rabies preferably also against canine distemper, parvovirus, leptospirosis and viral hepatitis,” it concluded.

The order had addressed seven petitions terming them “identical in questions of facts and law.”