Goa Notifies New Law to Regulate and Ban “Ferocious” Animals

Panjim:The crucial law prohibiting domestication, breeding and regulation of “ferocious” animals has been notified by the State government following assent from the Governor of Goa. The Goa Governor Ashok Gajapathi Raju granted his assent to the ‘The Goa Animal Breeding and Domestication (Regulation and Compensation) Act, 2025’, on September 11. The Act has now been notified. The Act proposes that the government may declare any breed or class of animals to be a “ferocious animal” through a notification published in the Official Gazette. Once notified, the breeding, keeping or importing of such animals in the State will be strictly prohibited. As per the Act, the owners of animals declared “ferocious” shall be solely responsible for their actions and liable, if they harm any human or animal, for paying compensation. It seeks to allow the legal representative of anyone killed by a “ferocious” animal to seek compensation from the owner. Once a breed or class of animals is declared ferocious, the owners will have 30 days to inform the animal husbandry director about their existence. The owners will then have 60 days to sterilise the animal and obtain a certificate from the director confirming the sterilisation. Owners of ferocious animals, failing to comply with the law, are liable to be punished with simple imprisonment, which may extend to three months and shall not be less than 15 days. The Act has proposed a fine of up to Rs 50,000 and community service as well. It seeks to empower courts to order community service in place of imprisonment. Under the law, the government will designate a competent authority and also frame rules for specifying the form for providing information and details of existing ownership of such ferocious breeds as may be notified.