Animal husbandry to rescue of horse owners

CHENNAI: A day after Express highlighted the plight of horse owners, who are struggling to feed their animals as beaches across the city are closed due to the pandemic, the animal husbandry department has come to their rescue.Taking note of the newsreport, “As lockdown keeps beaches out of bounds, horse owners’ income dries up”, the Animal husbandry department has decided to distribute fodder bags to ease the burden of horse owners. 

“The department has started distributing fodder for the horses from Monday and it will continue till the lockdown is in place. We will sustain our efforts till the requirement exists,” said TS Jawahar, secretary of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department, to Express. The department has a database of 104 horses, which are used as joy rides at the beaches across Chennai. With the help of a NGO, People for Animals, on Monday 104 bags of fodder was distributed to the horse owners.  

The secretary further highlighted that department will take efforts to ensure that neither horses nor any stray animals in the city die of starvation.As beaches are closed, the horse owners who earn their livelihood by using horses as joy ride in beaches are struggling for survival. With no income, they are facing a harrowing time in feeding the animals and their families.