Plea before Uttarakhand HC informing about the mistreatment and death of equines used for Char Dham

BENCH: A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra and Justice Ramesh Chandra Khulbe of the Uttarakhand High Court (HC)

The HC recently asked the Uttarakhand State government for its response to a petition highlighting the plight of horses, mules, and other animals used for the Char Dham pilgrimage. The bench issued notices to the State government and district magistrates of districts where Char Dham shrines are located and directed their responses within two weeks.

A PIL was filed by the animal welfare activist Gauri Maulekhi seeking a direction from the state government to halt the use of animals in its upper tracks for religious pilgrimages and to prepare an effective policy for use of equines in accordance with the applicable law.

The Petitioner informed the Court that nearly 20,000 horses, ponies,  mules, and donkeys are used in various pilgrim tracks for ferrying people and carrying supplies. The mismanagement of these animals in the State has led to absolute mayhem on the tracks. It is a direct consequence of a state of policy paralysis. 

Mismanagement often leads to animal cruelty, degradation of fragile ecosystems around holy shrines, and public health hazards. Sick and injured animals are seen working until they collapse and die with no infrastructure for veterinary care at any point.

As per the reports, over 600 such animals have died in the past two months, on the Kedarnath track alone. This figure does not include the slow deaths of these equines who died from injuries due to unrelenting abuse in Uttarakhand.