LMC to penalise dog owners sans licence

Doortodoor drive to check and make licences on the spot with penalty of ₹5k

LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) will start a special campaign to penalize owners who keep dogs at home without taking a municipal licence. The campaign was scheduled to start from Monday, said chief veterinary officer, LMC, Dr AK Rao.

The municipal corporation employees will carry out a house to house campaign to check the presence of dogs inside. The last date to apply for dog licence was May 31. Now, under the campaign the LMC would make the licence on the spot with a penalty of ₹5,000, said chief veterinary officer Dr AK Rao.

He added, “According to an LMC survey, more than 16,000 dogs are sold every year in the state capital by various individuals and NGOs but till date the LMC has given licence for only 3,234 pets . This difference in the number of dogs sold and licences obtained by owners has forced the corporation to start a campaign to issue dog’s licence with penalty.”

Dr Rao said, “One must understand that the process of getting a dog licence is quite simple , the owners can contact the municipal staff in LMC office and apply for licence.”

“The LMC wants the dogs to live in a good, clean, safe condition , where they are not subjected to torture by the owners. Besides that, the dogs must be in good health and properly vaccinated,” said Dr Rao. .

To obtain a dog licence, on has to provide a residential proof , identity proof and proof of vaccination of the pet against rabies. Keeping the pet up to date on all vaccinations is incredibly important as a responsible pet owner. Not only does this keep a dog safe, but others safe too in case of dog bite.

The licensing fee helps animal control programmes and services provided for other animals.

Dr Rao said, “The LMC keeps on getting the complaints from neighbours of pet owners that they let their dogs loose inside the colony or park , where they spread filth. There has been tension between neighbours because of dog bite and irresponsible behaviour of the owners of unlicenced dogs. The owner

would be responsible to clean the area where the dog spread filth .” for box

A dog licence is essential in all the cities, in order to be the keeper or owner of a dog in a legal way.

In other words, a dog licence is an identifying number which is issued to the owner, along with a dog tag bearing the identifier and a contact number for the registering organization. In case the dog is lost, the registration is important for identification and search.