Rules relaxed, Indians can now bring back pets

NEW DELHI: All Indians being evacuated from the war-torn

Ukraine

will be allowed to bring back their pet dogs and cats, the Union ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying said in a memorandum issued on Tuesday, reports Swati Mathur.

This, the ministry said, is a "one-time relaxation" granted for the Indians returning from Ukraine.

In a video posted on social media last week,

Rishabh Kaushik

, an Indian student, had said the Indian embassy in Ukraine had not responded to his requests to bring back his puppy, Malibu. His request, however, prompted People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India to send an urgent letter to the minister for fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying, Parshottam Rupala, urging the government to issue an urgent, no-objection certificate to ensure the safe transport for both Kaushik and his dog to India.