Hyderabad: Registration of dog breeders mandatory

Hyderabad: In order to curb illegal breeding and marketing of pups, the State government has mandated the registration of dog breeders. The Municipal Administration and Urban Development Secretary Arvind Kumar on Saturday directed the officials to shut down and curb the activities of dog breeders and sellers.

Arvind Kumar wrote to GHMC Commissioner DS Lokesh Kumar and IT Chief Secretary Jayesh Ranjan to this effect. He said that the Union Ministry of Environment has directed that care be taken to ensure that dog breeders' activities were subjected to the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act-2017. Arvind Kumar clarified that it was illegal to sell puppies with official and unofficial advertisements through social media networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Telangana State Animal Welfare Board registration is mandatory for the sale of puppies online. Chief Secretary Jayesh Ranjan has been directed by the IT department to keep a close watch on such transactions and businesses taking place online. According to officials, those who do not follow the rules should stop their activities immediately. For this, the Director, Animal Husbandry Department, Director, Municipal Administration (CDMA), Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda Police Commissioners have been directed to take strict action against unregistered dog breeders. The officials were asked to send a report to the government by August 15, the details of what action has been taken in the matter.