Victoria joyrides in Mumbai declared illegal - one year given to phase them out

Joyrides on Victoria carriages would be a thing of the past in one year from now because the Bombay High Court has ruled that these horse drawn carriages are illegal. The court has ruled that the carriages must be taken off the roads and necessary rehabilitation plans must be drawn up by the state for the horses, their owners and riders. Animal rights activists see this ruling as a victory.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 8 June 2015.

The decision was the result of a public interest litigation PIL that had been filed by Animal and Birds Charitable Trust – it sought a ban on the Victoria carriages on the roads of Mumbai. The PIL claimed that the horses are overworked, they suffer from malnutrition, and the owners do not take proper care of the animals.
The HC had earlier given the BMC the go ahead to confiscate unfit and unlicensed horses and hand them over to NGOs like PETA for rehabilitation.
The state had, earlier, intimated to the high court that, out of 53 applications that it had received, only 18 carriages were given the license to operate. The balance 35 had been rejected due to offences against the carriage drivers, unfit horses, and cruelty to the animals in the form of overloading.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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