Tamil Nadu: At least 23 'ferocious' dog breeds including Pitbull terrier and Tosa Inu have been banned in Tamil Nadu, state's Animal Husbandry Department informed on Thursday.
The development comes following a recent incident in Chennai where a Rottweiler dog bit and injured a child. The state government has announced a ban on the import, breeding and sale of 23 breeds that are considered 'ferocious'.
Earlier in March, amid rising cases of dog bites in the country, the union government directed states to ban and breeding of several dog breeds including Pitbull Terrier, American Bulldog, Rottweiler among others. The Centre issued a list of 23 dog breeds and asked states to stop their breeding and sale.
Centre in a letter to all the states, UTs, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying asked them to sterilised the mentioned dog breeds.
The Government said it has received representations from citizens, citizen forums and Animal Welfare Organisations (AWOs) to ban some of the breeds of dogs from keeping them as pets and other purposes. The panel has identified 23 breeds of dogs, including mixed and cross breeds, as ferocious and also dangerous for human lives.
List of dog breeds that were banned by the Centre
Pitbull Terrier, Tosa Inu, American Staffordshire Terrier, Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Argentino, American Bulldog, Boerboel Kangal, Central Asian Shepherd Dog and Caucasian Shepherd Dog are among the breeds sought to be banned from the Centre.
Other breeds included South Russian Shepherd Dog, Tornjak, Sarplaninac, Japanese Tosa and Akita, Mastiffs, Terriers, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Wolf Dogs, Canario, Akbash Dog, Moscow Guard Dog, Cane Corso and Bandog.
"... the above dog breeds, including crossbreeds, shall be prohibited for import, breedings, selling as pet dogs and other purposes," the government letter said, quoting the recommendations of the expert panel.
The Centre has published the Prevention of Cruelty to the Animal (Dog Breeding and Marketing) rules, 2017 and the Prevent of Cruelty to Animal (pet shop) rules, 2018.
With inputs from agencies
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