Above: File picture of a Pet Lover 

Hundreds of pet lovers from all over the capital took to a two day sit in at Jantar Mantar to protest against guidelines introduced last year to regulate the breeding and sale of pets such as birds dogs and fishes even as the Supreme Court is to take up on Monday multiple petitions challenging the government orders.

The protest was spearheaded by the Pet Lovers association, an all India body with over a 1000 members and more than 12,000 volunteers formed with the self proclaimed objective of “ providing a conducive environment for the pet industry and striving for the welfare and well-being of birds and animals”. While many of them deal in the trade of dogs, cats, exotic birds, pets etc. in pet shops run by them, the association has several pet lovers. The Ministry of Environment and Forests had over the last  two years released new ‘pet shop rules’  and ‘dog breeding and marketing rules’ to regulate the widespread business involving both indigenous and exotic species. The pet owners and traders argue that the new guidelines have been drawn up without the involvement of any of the stake holders.

A two judge bench of the Supreme Court will on Monday take up two writ petitions challenging the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dogs Breeding and Marketing) Rules,2017 and and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Pet Shop Rules 2018 and being illegal and  unconstitutional. The petition has been filed by the Pet Lovers Association who say that the government  has introduced the new measures in a most mechanical manner without considering the several objections and suggestions and the stakeholders could have given. They have simply picked up legislations from other countries with totally different systems, climatic and otherwise imposed them on India.’, said Ashok Pratap rai, president of the PLA.

The petitions will be heard by a two member bench of the apex court consisting of Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta.

–India Legal Bureau