According to the guidelines issued by Animal Welfare Board Of India, apartment owners cannot legally introduce any sort of “ban” on keeping the pets.
Bengaluru: There was an increase in instances of conflicts between pet owners and other residents in apartments, across Bengaluru. Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF), a federation representing the interests of hundreds of apartment complexes across Bengaluru claims to have received complaints of several pet owners who were facing troubles.
Shreya Anil, who plans to be a pet parent said, “ The society we live in right now is not a pet friendly society so my husband and I are contemplating moving to a society that is pet friendly, in a different locality, where we can keep a pet, according to the society guidelines.”
There have also been instances where pet owners have been forced to abandon pets, or asked to leave the society. When Shreya and her husband decided to have a pet, they were strictly asked by their housing secretary to either move to a new place or drop the plan of keeping a pet.
BAF has issued guidelines for pet ownership in apartments. It has been prepared with support from animal rights activists and animal lovers. “There are a lot of housing societies which tell you pets are not allowed there and give reasons such as elderly people don’t like the barking of dogs but there is no such law which says an apartment cannot allow pets”, says Kavya Dayal, an animal rights activist and a pet friendly apartment resident.
The guidelines issues by BAF are intended to act as a framework for Pet owners and managing committees of apartment associations to formulate bylaws and rules relating to pet ownership to ensure a harmonious and peaceful co-existence. It also intends to create awareness among citizens, both pet owners and others, about their duties, rights and responsibilities. Societies should ensure that pet owners follow certain guidelines and rules for pets so that apartments can be pet friendly and other residents don’t have problems too.
