New Delhi, Nov 27 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday pulled up the authorities over its failure to control illegal dog breeding in the capital and lamented the "bad name" given to pet lovers due to incidents of dog bites.
Calling it a sad state of affairs, a bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela asked the secretary in the animal husbandry department to file an affidavit listing out the measures undertaken and future steps to curb illegal dog breeding.
The court noted that since 2018, none of the status reports filed in the matter placed on record, showed the action taken by the authorities to check and control the illegal practice.
"It is a very sad state of affairs. The administration has not taken steps to check and control illegal dog breeding," it said.
The court, which was hearing a six-year-old PIL seeking to stop the illegal practice in the national capital, questioned the government over the steps taken by it during the pendency of the proceedings, and said dog lovers were getting a "bad name" due to the increase in cases of dog bites.
"Just go to RML Hospital and see how many dog bite cases are reported on a daily basis. The monthly number is in a few thousands. City is taken over by dogs and monkeys," the bench said.
The court stated that if it was not satisfied with the response filed by the secretary, it would request the chief secretary to take appropriate action against those responsible.
"We will ask the chief secretary to take action," the court cautioned, "this illegal business must stop. Your officers can't be involved in illegal dog breeding".
The matter would be heard next on December 5. PTI ADS AMK