TAMIL NADU BANS 23 'FEROCIOUS' DOG BREEDS

Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry Department has announced a ban on 23 'ferocious' dog breeds including Pitbull terrier and Tosa Inu in the state

The ban came days after a incident in Chennai where a Rottweiler dog bit and injured a child.

In the incident a five-year-old girl was grievously injured when two pet Rottweiler dogs ferociously attacked her in a park. Later cops arrested three people, including the pet owner. The case was filed after the girl's mother said the owners of the dogs "acted carelessly".

The girl, who is the daughter of a security guard, was playing in the park in Thousand Lights area on Sunday evening when the two Rottweilers pounced on her. Hearing her screams, the girl's mother and a few passers-by rushed to the kid's rescue and freed her from the clutches of the 'dangerous' breed.

Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner Dr J Radhakrishnan, who visited the girl at the hospital, announced that the civic body would bear the cost of her treatment.

The civic body would treat the incident as a stray dog menace and act accordingly since it was a clear case of negligence on the part of the pet owner.

"Once her condition stabilised, doctors would decide on taking up plastic surgery on her," the Commissioner added.

Earlier speaking to reporters, he said the central government had in March sent a communication to all state chief secretaries asking them to ban the import or sale of 23 breeds of ferocious dogs, including the Pitbull, Rottweiler, Terrier, and Mastiffs and their cross-breeds too.

Such dangerous dog breeds should be kept in leashes he said and warned of stringent action against the pet owners if due licences have not been obtained from the corporation.