India has been booming economically and as a result of which most people living in urban areas have had greater disposable incomes to spurge on the so called luxuries and possessions, so as to make them feel better, richer and also show off to their family and friends regardless of which strata of society one belongs to. With the fast moving lives one is living these days, most people don’t have time and patience and want everything instantly and also crave for new things on a continuous basis discarding the old. It does not matter if it’s a living thing or a non-living thing. We have forgotten the small joys of life and the beauty of nature.

In this new world scenarios what can be expected for pets and dogs in particular. Abandonment …

Search online which is the new norm, you will find endless articles that pop up on pets and dogs for sale and also being abandoned.

What are some common reasons for abandoning pets and pedigree dogs:

•Had their fill of owning a dog or particular breed and showing off to people.
• Unable to care for the dog any longer due to various reasons.
• Did not turn out as per their expectations & as per pictures seen of similar but top pedigree dogs.
• Not a good match with the person/ family as they did not realize the care, responsibility and money involved.
• Pet health issues.

List goes on ...

Now if we were to look further into this, another common point which comes out is that lack of knowledge, awareness & research done by the prospective pet owner on the breed and its breed requirements before they finalized on a particular breed which may best suit them. This is also partly the responsibility of the breeder to inform and educate the puppy buyer about the breed they are involved with. Will their breed be a good match or not with the prospective puppy owner. For example, if it’s an active breed, is the prospective owner an active person/ family too. Do they have time to exercise the dog, and so on. If not, the breeder should not consider selling/ placing their pup with this person. That is what an ethical breeder would do. Ask a lot of questions to see if it’s going to be a perfect fit or not and only then decide on placing the pup in the right home.

So who are these so called breeders who ignore questioning and looking into the prospective new owner’s backgrounds to see if the particular breed would be a good fit with the prospective new owner. On the other hand these prospective puppy owners are not really interested in a particular breed’s requirements in regards to care, exercise, space etc. They just have a fixed mind as to what they have taken a fancy to or what is the new so called cool thing to have and show off. And they want it immediately and also at the cheapest possible cost. This makes it a perfect fit for this type of so called breeder and new owner. No questions asked, mass production of cheap dogs, health and welfare of the dogs and pups not important. Well this is the typical definition of a puppy mill breeder and also trader.

A puppy mill breeder/ trader is one which has more than 2 breeds with them at any given point of time. They will always have pups available of various breeds and if not they would get you any breed you want no questions asked as long as you are willing to spend your money. Pups will mostly be offered at a very young age generally less than 7 weeks of age so that they don’t have to spend much on raising the pups and vaccinating them. Making the maximum money. Some even hide behind the name of pet shops which are flourishing all over the country and in the smallest of towns.

Surely not all dog owners and prospective puppy owners are insensitive people. There are a lot of genuine dog lovers too who love their pets just like their family and hence the pet food and accessories industry in the last 5 to 10 years has really boomed in India. Genuine dog lovers want the best for their four legged friends and their numbers are huge and no wonder all international premium pet food brands are already present in India and those who have been left out are queuing up to enter the Indian market. So where is the so called ethical breeder?

Well in the last 5 odd years the government has banned the import of dogs from other countries as puppy mills and traders were involved in this dirty trade of getting cheap dogs and pups from other Asian Countries, Eastern Europe and Russia. It was a very common site at most major International Airports in India where one would see 10 plus crates of small puppies piled up on a luggage trolley by people involved in this trade. Yes trade, these pups were being flown in without any permission for reselling and were shown as a passenger getting them as their own pets even though only 2 pets were allowed per passenger flying into India. However corrupt officials allowed dozens of such pups to be brought in by a single passenger. These corrupt officials went unchecked even today sadly.

Now with the complete blanket ban on the importation of any pups or dogs into the country, there is a great shortage of gene pool. In simple terms there are not enough good healthy dogs to be breed from in order to produce even better and healthier dogs, which is the main goal of any ethical breeder around the world. They cannot breed close relatives of a particular dog, as that would produce dogs with defects and health issues. So the ethical dog breeder who really was involved with a particular breed is now unable to carry on breeding activities as their main goal was to breed better and better dogs, which in turn will raise the standard of a particular breed and be healthy, good tempered, well-adjusted companions and family members.

A diverse gene pool is required in any breeding activity regardless of which animal or birds. Take cattle, horses, and so on. In the absence of it either the ethical breeding practices come to a complete stop or unethical breeders and traders take over and continue breeding and producing unhealthy and unstable animals which in turn will not be suitable and would eventually be abandoned. Look at most abandoned dogs and the are the ones who have not been bred properly, unhealthy, far from that perfect description of the breed in looks and temperament. Sad.

The demand for a pet and a loving companion will not end and hence the supply will continue. Unfortunately no one seems to be really interested in the end result which is abandonment and suffering.

In the current scenario of Covid-19 once again there is a huge demand for pets and pups, as it appears people are getting bored and need something to keep themselves busy with and I am sure later on these pets will be abandoned or rehomed. It’s like as soon as the holiday season starts people start looking for pups to gift and buy for themselves, without really looking at the responsibility which comes with a pet. I am sure we all have heard or known someone or the other who has bought a puppy out of an impulse and who did not really think about the responsibility and commitment and then wanted to give it away when they have had their fill. So where is the check on these impulse buyers and also on the people selling these pups? Who is monitoring them and taking legal action against such people?

In the last 5 plus years of banning the importation of dogs, has it lead to the numbers of abandoned dogs going down, rather it’s been rising at an alarming rate. Social media is flooded with horrific stories of abandoned dogs and its now not just restricted to metropolitan cities alone, which is even more alarming. There are shelters for abandoned and rescued dogs all over the world but the shelters in India are overflowing with abandoned dogs and lacking funds for basic amenities for these dogs suffering. Banning any activity anywhere in the world has not worked in the long run. It has to be regulated and that is the only answer for the greater good of our loving four legged friends.

For all those who still feel that Importing of Dogs should continue to be banned, then my question being an animal lover is that why are we not banning importing of horses and cattle? I am sure we all are aware of the cruel practices being followed by the dairy industry and also the thorough bred horse racing industry. How many horses really make it to the race track and are winners, what happens to the majority of the thorough bred horses bred. How many get injured and are put down even before they race. It’s said that at times the heart of the horse bursts while being made to run faster and faster to win the race. Huge amounts of money are at stake and betting’s in this so called sport, but can it be justified. Dairy cows on the other hand are used as machines to just produce calf after calf so that she can be milked her entire life and when she is old and milk production drops what is done typically. What happens to the male calves produced? The list goes on and on, but why is there no ban or regulations still. Why ban only dogs. Ban all animals and birds from being imported into India. Regulate these so called industries.

Now coming back to the abandonment of dogs and how it can be stopped by regulating it. My personal suggestion is that in India there is an organization which has been in India since a 100 odd years. All countries have a similar body/ organization which works at registering and micro chipping dogs and pups registered with them for future identification and also tracking their owners if at all a dog gets lost. It also regulates breeding activities for the dogs and breeders registered with them. For example a dog cannot be bred continuously, it has to be given a gap between litters and also a dog cannot be bred after certain age which is specified. This regulates the breeding of dogs and also keeps a check on the number of dogs bred and pups produced and who the current owners are.

However, the puppy mill breeder and trader are not interested in registering with this organization as they don’t want to spend additional money on the welfare of their dogs and follow guidelines and hence most dogs abandoned cannot be tracked back to its breeder and current owner. They don’t have any microchips and no one can be held responsible. If registering with such an organization is made mandatory, it would solve a lot of the issues including abandonment of pets as owners can be tracked and legal action taken against them. Like in most countries a list of ethical breeders registered with that particular countries organisation is generally displayed on the website and prospective owners can contact them directly and speak to them regarding the breed of their interest and can be scanned for suitability also.

Apart from this the import of dogs should be opened and a license should be given to a person to import a dog with a single window clearance so that there is no corruption and a track can be kept of the person who has imported the dog for himself. A hefty custom duty should be charged so that only serious people will import a dog and not for trading purpose as the dogs would be too expensive for that activity due to the hefty custom duty. Certain amount of this custom duty can then be given for animal welfare activities. In my opinion this would be a win win situation for all and the greater good of our beloved four legged friends.

If you agree even partly to the above please share it and let’s hope that the law makers and animal welfare organization take note of it and act accordingly. If at all the welfare of dogs are priorty.