Delhi HC seeks Centre stand on plea against ban on 23 dog breeds
New Delhi, Apr 1: The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the stand of the Centre on a petition which alleged that the ban on the sale and breeding of 23 dog breeds was arbitrary and violative of the Constitution.
Justice Subramonium Prasad asked the central government to respond to the plea filed by a professional dog breeder and a doctor who was an "enthusiast of special category dogs".
The plea claimed no studies were conducted to conclude that the breeds were "ferocious" and ought to be banned and that the direction violated one's right to practice any profession, trade or business, guaranteed under the Constitution.
On March 12, the Centre directed states to ban the sale and breeding of 23 breeds of ferocious dogs, including Pitbull Terriers, American Bulldog, Rottweilers and Mastiffs, amid rising instances of pet dog attacks.
The directive issued to states and Union Territories bars people from keeping as many as 23 breeds of dogs as pets.
In a letter dated March 12 to chief secretaries of all states and UTs, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying also said that these breeds of dogs, which have already been kept as pets, should be sterilised to prevent further breeding.
The petition said the decision was taken without including the key stakeholders in the consultation process and it discriminated against individuals involved in the profession of dog training.
"Both Petitioner No. 1 and Petitioner No. 2 represent individuals directly affected by the Impugned Notification, as it infringes upon their fundamental rights, threatens their livelihoods, and undermines their collective efforts to promote responsible dog breeding practices and preserve special dog breeds," it said.
"By stifling the activities of enthusiasts and organisations committed to preserving purebred dog breeds, the notification disrupts the fabric of the dog breeding community and curtails the dissemination of valuable knowledge and expertise," it claimed.
The plea further said no study had been conducted to conclude that the banned breeds were "ferocious" and ought to be banned.
"There is no data which indicates that it is these dogs that have caused terror which warrant their ban. An arbitrary and blanket ban on 23 dog breeds is therefore violative of the Constitution of India," it stated.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
