Kolkata: Two FIRs were registered in Kolkata after action by PETA India and CAPE Foundation against the owners of two ailing horses found in distress, including one lying recumbent under the Hastings flyover.With swift assistance from Kolkata Police, the animals were rescued and shifted to an equine sanctuary for urgent veterinary treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term care.The FIRs were filed under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, on Aug 17 and 19. In one case, a horse near Victoria Memorial was allegedly being whipped despite a visible back injury and lameness in a hind leg. In another, a horse was found collapsed under the Hastings flyover, unable to stand and in need of immediate intervention.PETA India and CAPE Foundation said the cases point to a continuing cruelty crisis in Kolkata’s horse-carriage and tourist “joyride” trade, where injured, malnourished, and exhausted horses are still forced to work on hard roads and in heavy traffic. When the animals become sick, lame, or unprofitable, many are reportedly abandoned, creating suffering for horses and danger for commuters.The organisations also renewed their call for Kolkata to replace horse-drawn carriages with heritage-style electric carriages, following the model adopted in Mumbai. PETA India urged West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari to support a transition that protects animals, improves public safety, preserves the city’s tourism character, and safeguards livelihoods through humane alternatives.PETA India Policy Associate Chumki Dutta thanked Kolkata Police for prompt support that enabled the horses’ rescue and relief, while CAPE Foundation managing trustee Radhika Bose said whipping injured and lame horses on busy streets showed that animal welfare and public safety were being ignored.The Calcutta High Court has earlier noted the poor condition of Kolkata’s carriage horses, unlicensed hackney carriages, inadequate shelters, and abandonment of unfit animals on roads, and directed the state to examine rehabilitation and alternative livelihood options for carriage owners before considering phasing out horse-drawn carriages in the city entirely.
