Sorry, only three dogs per household in Bangalore

BBMP thinks Bangalore is going to the dogs.

Too many dogs is a bad thing for the city, it feels.

BBMP now wants dog lovers in the city to limit the number of canines they can keep to three per household. The civic agency has submitted a proposal to this effect to the state government.
If you have more than three dogs, you will be considered as a dog breeder and will have to move to city outskirts.

Sources in BBMP say complaints have been pouring in from residents about incessant barking from neighbourhoods where people keep dogs. 

A case in point is from Nagarabhavi. Nagarabhavi Garden Villas Residents Association had complained to the Jnanabharathi police station and BBMP against a resident, VKS Sharma, who had kept more than 50 dogs at his place.

“MLA Priya Krishna, too, wrote a letter to the BBMP commissioner to take necessary action,” said a senior BBMP official.

RV Bhanu, a resident at Garden Villas in Nagarabhavi, says many people are resorting to canine breeding at residences. “Incessant barking leaves us sleep-deprived. Even walking around the neighbourhood has become a risky affair,” says Bhanu.

The proposal also suggests that to keep more than three dogs you will have to get breeder’s licence from BBMP.  “Licences will be issued by the animal husbandry division of BBMP,” says Pervez Ahmed Piran, joint director, animal husbandry, BBMP.   BBMP sources say more than 50 canine breeders operate from residential areas. “We want all of them to move away,” an official said. With many Bangaloreans keen to keep a pet dog, there is a huge business potential for canine breeding.  

“People breed dogs in residential areas without any licence. A dog with good breed will fetch the breeder anything between Rs30,000 and Rs1 lakh,” said a person familiar with the situation. BBMP is keen to put the business of dog breeding under stricter check.