(India) Want a pet? Get licence first

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http://www.hindustantimes.com/Want-a-pet-Get-licence-first/Article1-540813.aspx

 

Want a pet? Get licence first

 

Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times

Email Author

New Delhi, May 08, 2010

 

Very soon, you will need a license to own a pet, whose well-being will be

regularly inspected by government officials. If your pet is found to be in bad

health, the officials will have powers to confiscate them.

 

In the new draft rules for pet shops, the environment ministry has made license

for each species of pet mandatory and allowed sale of only sterilised pets,

except where a veterinary doctor allows. “The license will be valid only for

12 months,†the rules said.

 

However, the pet owner would be able to obtain the license directly from the

local authorities or with the help of the pet shop owners, who will have to take

a license to operate. Government officials will have the right to inspect the

pets at regular intervals.

 

“It is a positive step,†said Poorva Joshipura, chief of People for Ethical

Treatment of Animals India, in an email response to HT.

 

The rules, to be implemented jointly by local municipal bodies and Animal

Welfare Board of India, prescribe air-conditioned living for pets up for sale.

“The ambient temperature for animal dwelling are shall remain between 25-30°C

and humidity below 50 per cent,†the draft rules notified for inviting

objections this week said.

 

That’s not all. The rules prescribe standards of living for different species

of animals and birds and the level of hygiene the shop owners will have to wait.

A minimum of 24 sq feet area will have to be demarcated for a large dog and 12

sq feet for a large cat. Rules also cover the food that each species should get

daily. Each pet shop will have to employ a doctor.

 

The rules also prohibit pet shops near butcher shops and require labelling on

the health of the animals or birds for sale.