Mumbai: Extending a lifeline to joyride horses, earmarked by the BMC to be seized after a six-year-old girl fell to her death from one at the Cooperage Garden, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has offered them sanctuary.
The animal rights organisation has written to the civic body and the city police, offering to rehabilitate the horses to a suitable facility. The offer has been made by other animal welfare organisations as well. Their seizure by the BMC is likely, as the Bombay High Court has ordered closure of joyride operations in the city after the mishap.
Dr. Manilal Valliyate, equine veterinarian and CEO, PETA India, said, “These malnourished, overworked and exhausted horses are highly vulnerable to accidents. When they are forced to offer joyrides, both they and their riders are placed in immense danger.” PETA has demanded BMC and the police ensure these horses are protected from suffering, and the public from traffic mishaps and other risks of injury.
PETA has requested that civic authorities implement the HC’s orders banning horse-carriage and joyrides in Mumbai. It also requested enforcement of Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act, 1888 provisions, which require horses from unlicensed stables and those being used illegally for joyrides be seized. In 2015, the HC had also ruled that none of the stables in the city are licensed under section 394 of the MMC Act, 1888. The court had issued the orders in a PIL involving the Animals and Birds Charitable Trust and Others versus the BMC, in which PETA was an intervener.
In its letter to the Municipal Commissioner and the Commissioner of Police, PETA has highlighted an affidavit submitted by the State government states that horse owners and drivers will be eligible to choose between two options: a one-off payment of ₹1 lakh and a vendor licence under The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) (Maharashtra) Rules, 2016, or a one-off payment of ₹3 lakh. The affidavit also states that the implementation of the rehabilitation policy is entrusted to the BMC.