PETA India Calls On Haryana to Ban Foreign Dog Breeds Bred for Aggression
Following an attack in Faridabad in which a 22-year-old man’s pit bull tore off most of his ear, PETA India sent a letter to Haryana’s Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying requesting that it implement a state-wide policy prohibiting the breeding, selling, or keeping of dog breeds such as pit bull terriers, Rottweilers, Pakistani bully kuttas, Dogos Argentinos (Argentine mastiffs), Presa Canarios (Spanish mastiffs), Fila Brasileiros (Brazilian mastiffs), bull terriers, and XL bullies, who are commonly bred and used for illegal fighting. PETA India warns that such dogs are often sold to unsuspecting buyers who are themselves attacked or otherwise cannot control the animals.
Panchkula Municipal Corporation in Haryana is one of the first cities in India to implement rules on keeping pit bulls and Rottweilers within city limits. Recently, Chandigarh, the capital of Haryana, also banned keeping or breeding six such dog breeds. In the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation endorsed a proposal to ban the rearing of pit bulls, Rottweilers, and Dogo Argentinos and Kanpur Municipal Corporation passed a resolution prohibiting the rearing of pit bulls and Rottweilers.
Pit bulls and similar foreign dog breeds are primarily used for dogfighting in India, even though inciting dogs to fight is illegal under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Without suitable enforcement and regulation, organised dogfights have become prevalent in parts of the country, making pit bull–type dogs and others used in these fights the most abused dog breeds. Pit bulls and related breeds are also otherwise typically kept on heavy chains as attack dogs, resulting in aggressive defensive behaviour and a lifetime of suffering. Many endure painful physical mutilations, such as ear cropping and tail docking – illegal procedures that involve removing part of a dog’s ears or their tail, respectively, to try to prevent another dog from grabbing them during a fight. These dogs are encouraged to continue fighting until they become exhausted and at least one is seriously injured or dies. Because dogfighting is illegal, injured dogs are not taken to veterinarians.
A prohibition could be achieved in the state by making sterilisation and registration of such dogs mandatory while prohibiting breeding, keeping, or selling them after a stipulated date. PETA India is also calling for a closure of illegal pet shops and breeders as well as a crackdown on illegal dogfighting.
