noida the policy making it compulsory for pet owners to sterilise their dogs and cats is harsh and will likely prompt legal challenges against it animal activists said on monday reacting to the noida authoritys notification this clause of sterilisation is going to attract court cases only who has given noida authority the right to take a collective decision for all pet owners this is wrong the policy has been formed in haste and not keeping in mind the long term consequences said advocate anjali sharma a former member of the animal welfare board of india awbi others also spoke of the legality of the rule kaveri rana a canine rehabilitation expert said people should be left to take decisions on their own it is a violation of our rights and there is no mention of forced sterilisations on pet owners in the awbi guidelines although i think that sterilisation is a good thing to do to save pets from several health issues and curb illegal breeding people should be allowed to make an informed decision rana also said the sterilisation procedure was dangerous for elderly and sick dogswho should we hold responsible if a dog dies during the procedure many people would do that out of the authoritys penal clause it policy is going to be challenged in courts she said the policy notified by the authority on monday says sterilisation is must for all healthy dogs and cats more than 6 months old the pet owners who dont do so by the january 31 2023 deadline will be fined rs 2000 every month when asked about the benefits of sterilisation veterinary doctors said there were pros and cons on a casebycase basis every dog does not require sterilisation indiscriminate sterilisation will have harmful effects it is also unethical pet owners should be allowed to decide for their pets it will be very harsh to make it mandatory said abhishek daber an ncrbased veterinary doctor