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The central government has instructed states to prohibit the sale and breeding of 23 breeds of aggressive dogs, such as the Pitbull Terrier, American Bulldog, Rottweiler, and Mastiffs, due to an increase in incidents of pet dog attacks.
These breeds are no longer permitted to be kept as pets as per a report by NDTV.
Furthermore, the government has advised that existing pets of these banned breeds should be sterilised to prevent further breeding.
The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying stated that it has received requests from citizens, citizen forums, and Animal Welfare Organisations to ban certain breeds of dogs from being kept as pets or for other purposes.
This includes breeds such as the Pitbull Terrier, Tosa Inu, American Staffordshire Terrier, Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Argentino, American Bulldog, Boerboel Kangal, Central Asian Shepherd Dog, and Caucasian Shepherd Dog.
Additionally, the list includes breeds like the South Russian Shepherd Dog, Tornjak, Sarplaninac, Japanese Tosa and Akita, Mastiffs, Terriers, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Wolf Dogs, Canario, Akbash Dog, Moscow Guard Dog, Cane Corso, and Bandog.
"The aforementioned dog breeds, including crossbreeds, are prohibited from import, breeding, sale as pet dogs, and other purposes," the directive stated, citing the recommendations of the expert panel.