Investigation Exposes Mumbai’s Filthy Horse Stables

PETA India has just released a report on its latest investigation of filthy and decrepit stables that house horses used to pull carriages in Mumbai. The report comes in advance of a Bombay High Court hearing for a case in which PETA India and other organizations are calling for a ban on the carriages—called Victorias—in the city. Shocking photos reveal horses—some of whom are injured, sick, or severely malnourished—forced to stand amid their own waste on uneven and filthy floors.

Here are just a few of the other findings:

• Horses were tied up by their legs and heads, allowing them little to no movement.
• Feces and urine had accumulated on the stable floors, attracting swarms of flies.
• Feed troughs and mangers were filthy and lacked fresh food.
• The water kept in open plastic containers was muddy, contaminated, and unfit for drinking.
• Some horses were so malnourished that their bones were protruding. Others were injured and otherwise debilitated, with a body condition score of “very thin.”
• Conditions apparently violated The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. The stables were so atrocious that they presented a threat to public health.

The horses’ suffering doesn’t end after they’re forced to pull heavy loads through Mumbai’s dangerous streets all day, including through monsoon rains. All they have to look forward to at the end of a grueling day of hard labor is standing almost motionless in filthy stables that aren’t even licensed to exist.

What You Can Do

If you live in an American city where carriage rides are still allowed, contact your local legislators and ask them to sponsor a ban. And sign the petition asking New York City to ban horse-drawn carriages. Wherever you are, never, ever ride in a horse-drawn carriage, and tell everyone why you’re choosing not to!