Maharashtra: Bombay HC seeks state’s reply to PIL on pet dogs’ walks; access to animal ambulances – Times of India

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Friday sought a reply from the state on a public interest litigation by a Pune woman on permission to take pet dogs for their daily walks, while observing that walking them within housing society compounds for now, as permitted, was adequate for the moment.
The state government pleader Priyabhushan Kakade stated that there were no restrictions by Pune civic body for taking pets for walks within the society compounds. Justice S C Gupte was hearing a petition by Pune resident Vineeta Tandon and an animal welfare activist via video-conferencing. Her lawyer Harshavardhan Bhende also raised a concern of police stopping animal ambulances to which Kakade said there was no orders curbing such ambulances. Bhende said on the ground, the reality was different.
The HC sought clarity from the state on these issues by May 15 and adjourned the matter till then. The HC also directed the petitioner to place on record any letters written by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) on the issue after the lawyer said that it had mentioned that failure to let dogs be taken for walks would amount to cruelty to animals, even during the covid-19 lockdown.
The PIL said, “Pune district is one of the worst affected regions in Maharashtra and while the administration and police are doing their best in implementing the lockdown it has cause certain friction amongst police, animal welfare workers and citizens’’ as “police arbitrarily stopped pet owners from taking dogs for walks’’ and have “taken them to police stations and detained them there for over three-four hours.’’
Police stations in Pune have also issued directions to housing societies to bar such residents from taking pets for walks.
The commissioner of the district animal husbandry department had however on April 9 directed that all police personnel must allow feeding of stray animals by designated animal feeders as adviced by AWBI but police commissioner of Pune as well as of Pimpri Chinchwad failed to act, said the PIL, “leading to police taking coercive steps.’’