Rise in stray horse population in Ooty poses problems

Recently, the Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) received a call from the owner of a pony, stating that the animal had got stuck in slush near Thalaikundah.

Members of the WVS team, who are known for rescuing even seriously injured horses, quickly rushed in and helped rescue the animal.

Team

The team, which in the past has treated severely injured horses hit by vehicles, may have to attend to more such emergencies in the future, especially in light of the increase in the population of horses within Udhagamandalam town and the surrounding areas.

Recently, the Udhagamandalam municipality began registering horses and their owners inside the town, to ensure that the animals are not let loose and allowed to roam the streets.

However, with the stray horse population continuing to increase, activists have called for more steps to be taken to ensure that the population of horses is controlled, before the problem becomes even harder to contain.

Nagina Reddy, from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in the Nilgiris, said that the municipality and the district administration must issue orders stating that the horse owners must spay and neuter their horses to stop them from breeding.

“The problem is that most owners do not keep the horses contained in stables, but allow them to roam the streets, ensuring that the animals reproduce in large numbers,” said Ms. Reddy.

Ilona Otter, Director of International Veterinary Training at the WVS, said that steps must be taken to at least prevent animals from walking on the roads so they don't get hit by vehicles.

“We have proposed that a bicycling path near the Ooty Lake and Boat House be allotted for horse-riding, so that the animals are kept away from the roads,” she said.

Identify

The SPCA has also proposed that the horses be cold-branded, so that the owners of the animals can be identified, while there have also been calls to allot a grazing area, where the horses of registered owners can be housed at night. Activists said that the municipality needed to identify how many horses the town can sustain, before over-population becomes a problem.