FIAPO and CJ Memorial Trust Fighting Horrific Government Laws Against Pets and Owners in Bangalore

CJ Memorial Trust works largely on enablement and advocacy of pet dogs. It has set up Cubbon Park Canines, which is a 10,000 member Facebook community that physically volunteers and manages the biggest Dog Park in Bangalore. Headed by Ms. Priya Rajagopalan Chetty, the trust has worked on many initiatives with the government and community--ranging from dogs having access to public parks, setting up India’s first grief counseling site on Facebook for those who have lost their pets, ‘The Global Indie’ to help those transferring or travelling overseas with their pets, and promoting dogs with disabilities as regular pets and therapy dogs.

They have also developed special interest groups for dogs with diabetes and epilepsy. In addition, a lot of counseling and support is provided to people as well. The #DogTagged, #DogGone and #NoMoreLostDogs campaigns were initiated and run with the Cubbon Park Canines and vet clinics, boarding houses, pet shops, dog parks, shelters to ensure that dogs had ID tags. Over 4000 tags have been distributed free by CJ Memorial Trust in order to promote safe pets and responsible ownership till now.

When Ms. Priya approached FIAPO with her misgivings about the #OneDogOneHousehold law that was passed by the Bengaluru government, FIAPO decided to take that up immediately. We wrote to the BBMP Commissioner regarding the Pet Dog Licensing By-Laws 2018. We wrote to the authorities expressing our strong interest in opposition to this notification, as it caused deep distress to animals, and was likely to cause harassment of pet guardians. Also, the law does not take concrete steps to ensure that harmony is maintained between dogs and people. It is also likely to cause harm to those breeds of dogs that are not protected under the notification, and even lead to their abandonment.

We also sent a joint media invite to the authorities for an NWMD event that was held in Bangalore, where we received a good media turnout. We expect positive changes to come across with respect to the law passed, soon.