Rottweiler, Pitbull dogs to be banned in Goa

PANAJI
The Goa Cabinet led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday decided to impose a ban on keeping the ferocious Rottweiler and Pitbull dog breeds as pets in Goa.

Sawant addressing the press conference after Wednesday’s cabinet meeting said an Ordinance to amend the relevant law to bring into effect a ban on keeping dogs of these two breeds as pets will soon be promulgated.

The decision follows a growing demand for such a ban in recent months on the back of incidents in which children and others have been victims of ferocious attacks by Rottweiler and Pitbull dogs in different parts of Goa.

“Current owners of Rottweilers and Pitbulls will have to register their pets. However, fresh import of dogs of these two breeds will be banned,” Sawant said, adding that once registering of existing pets begins and is enforced, the exact information of where and how many Rottweiler and Pitbull dogs exist in the State will be available and monitored.

Amid the incidents of pet dogs attacking humans which shook the public conscience in the recent past, the Central government too had issued directives to all States and Union Territories to curb people from having certain ferocious breeds of dogs as pets.

The directives were issued in March last year in a letter to all Chief Secretaries issued by the Centre’s Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

The directive had urged in the letter to the Chief Secretaries to ensure that the ban on the ferocious breeds is imposed with “immediate effect”.

The State government’s Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services (DAH&VS), meanwhile, will have its hands full in implementing the ban and is keen to rope in the local bodies – municipalities and panchayats.

The Rottweiler and Pitbull Terrier breeds, which are known to be owned by Goan pet lovers, were also part of the list of breeds which the Centre had banned for import, breeding and selling last year.