Indie, rescued dogs to be exempted from licence fee under GBA’s pet rules

Indie dogs, as well as rescued, injured, or abandoned dogs, are set to be exempt from paying a licence fee under a new draft of pet dog regulations to be issued by the city corporations. The proposed exemption, subject to certification by a designated veterinary officer, is aimed at encouraging adoption and discouraging abandonment, even as the civic body moves to tighten overall regulation of pet ownership.

Moreover, the draft removes the earlier requirement of compulsory sterilisation of female pet dogs above 12 months of age and instead, states that pet dogs cannot be used for breeding unless the owner obtains a valid breeding licence from the authority concerned.