The Environment Ministry on Friday released a set of draft rules to regulate pet shops doing brisk business.
Once notified, the rules will make it mandatory for these shops to register with the state animal welfare boards. The shops will be inspected by a veterinarian and a member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals before they are allowed to register.
“This is the first step,” Environment Minister Anil Dave said, when asked whether the government was planning any steps to bring in price control measures in the pet business, which is currently unregulated with no checks and balance.
The rules define space requirement for birds, cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pig, hamster, rats and mice in the pet shop. It would be mandatory to maintain proper records of the sale, purchase, sickness and death of animals in the shop.
Every pet shop owner is required to submit yearly reports to the state animal welfare board on the animals sold, traded, brokered, given away or
exhibited.
This is not the first attempt by the government to keep an eye on pet shops.
In 2010, the ministry brought out another set of draft pet shop rules, which also had provisions on home visits by animal welfare board inspectors. However, the rules were never finalised as several stakeholders pointed out that they were too cumbersome to implement.
For instance, the old rules had a licensing fee of Rs 5,000 and renewal charge of
Rs 2,000 that has been done away with in the new draft. Also, the earlier idea of home inspection and obtaining a license from the municipality for keeping a pet are not there in the new rules.
About the possibility of holding jallikattu in January, Dave said the Centre would decide its next course of action only after the Supreme Court passes its order. On January 8, the government issued a notification lifting the ban on jallikattu in Tamil Nadu with certain restrictions. This was challenged in the apex court by the Animal Welfare Board of India, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals and a Bengaluru-based NGO.