Ooty bans joyride using old racehorses

Udhagamandalam: The animal husbandry department in association with Nilgiris Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), headed by the district collector, has announced a complete ban on retired racehorses used for tourist joyrides in the district.
Any person found abusing retired race horses for joyrides will be penalized with a minimum of Rs 50, 000 and the horses shall be confiscated and sent to an infirmary already identified by local authorities for further care, a press release said.
Owing to blatant disregard for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960, under section 11 (h), (i), (j), the collector ordered the ban on joyrides.
Taking note of several reports of ill treatment meted out to the retired racehorses, the collector urged police department and local authorities to rehabilitate all such horses from the streets of Ooty to a place where they would be taken good care of.
The collector’s decision to ban joyrides comes in the wake of several complaints that caretakers of old racehorses had abandoned them, forcing them to roam on streets foraging for food, often carrying injuries from old age that get worse with time.
The collector’s order will prove to be a deterrent for those who abandon old racehorses or use them for joyrides, said the release.