Mumbai Horse Carriage Owners’ Appeal Dismissed By Supreme Court—Ban On Cruel Victoria Carriages Remains

Mumbai, 07th February 2023 (GNI): Yesterday, a Supreme Court bench consisting of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice M.M. Sundresh dismissed an appeal against the ban imposed by the Bombay High Court on horse-drawn Victoria carriages. With this dismissal, the Bombay High Court orders dated 8 June 2015 and 3 April 2017 stand reaffirmed.

The 8 June 2015 judgment of the Bombay High Court ruled that using Victorias in Mumbai for “joyrides” is illegal. The court also maintained that none of the stables for horses in Mumbai possess a licence under Section 394 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888. On 3 April 2017, while dismissing a review petition filed by horse owners, the Bombay High Court firmly reiterated its earlier decision. Following this, on 7 July 2017, the Bombay High Court accepted Maharashtra state’s rehabilitation plan for horse-drawn carriage owners and drivers, further clearing the way for implementation of the ban on Victoria carriages.

“The beautiful mechanical e-carriages now used in Mumbai instead of horses-drawn carriages have relieved the animals’ suffering and are safer for city roads”, says Arunima Kedia, PETA India’s senior legal counsel. “Old habits die hard for some, but most tourists and drivers alike prefer the e-carriages to those that unhappy horses are forced to pull.”

PETA India’s investigations, which were filed before the Bombay High Court, revealed that horses were often injured, sick, and severely malnourished and forced to stand amidst their own waste in filthy and decrepit stables. Reports further documented that they were frequently denied adequate rest, water, and veterinary care. Accidents involving horse-drawn carriages have caused numerous injuries, some of which have been fatal.

In the years since the above orders were passed by the Bombay High Court, many horse owners and carriage drivers have switched to alternate forms of livelihood, including driving mechanical e-carriages to offer rides to tourists. Numerous horses have been rescued from a life of suffering pulling Victoria carriages on tar roads and have been released to sanctuaries, where they can enjoy their lives in peace, stated in the press release.

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagrame.enfs GNI SG