The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has proposed a new set of guidelines that may forbid residents of apartments from raising large dogs as pets. Breeds such as Great Dane, English Mastiff, Bulldog, Boxer, Rottweiler, St Bernard, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever have been taken off the list of pets permitted by the civic body, reported The Hindu. Bengaluru citizens cannot keep more than one medium-sized dog in an apartment either.

The civic body will also made it mandatory for people to acquire a licence for their pets and ensure that their pets are sterilised, the report added. The new guidelines include a penalty for people who do not clean up after their pets in public spaces.

Though the new set of rules may curb the number of large breed dogs confined in small apartments in the city, animal rights activists have held that the civic body should have been more strict with breeders who sell dogs that should not be kept as pets in the city. The new rules have made it mandatory for breeders to get a separate licence. However, activists have said that the city had several illegal breeders and the problem would not be solved unless the “puppy mills” were shut down.

There are at least 15 illegal breeding centres across the city, according to a 2016 report by the Compassion Unlimited Plus Action. “BBMP should stop such breeding in Sriramapuram, Russell Market and other areas. None of the breeders have licences. Officials need to shut them down and issue licences to only those meeting stipulated conditions,” said R Shantha Kumar, welfare officer, Animal Welfare Board of India.

Corrections and clarifications: The story has been edited to reflect that the BBMP has proposed the rules but not issued them yet.