NGO pitches for more e-vehicles at Matheran to save horses from ‘gruelling labour’

It said PAWS founder Dr Nilesh Bhange has demanded that the number of e-rickshaws be increased at the hill station.The NGO and an animal husbandry clinic organised a vaccination drive for the ponies at Matheran on August 15, it added.

An NGO has pitched for replacing horses with electric vehicles in Matheran, saying there is a high prevalence of irreversible and untreatable conditions in working equines at the hill station caused by a “lifetime of gruelling labour”.

Matheran, about 90 km from Mumbai, is a popular pedestrian hill station in Maharashtra’s Raigad district. In a release on Friday, the Plant and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) said animal-free means will stop the abuse of animals and protect the livelihood of locals at Matheran. It said PAWS founder Dr Nilesh Bhange has demanded that the number of e-rickshaws be increased at the hill station.

The NGO and an animal husbandry clinic organised a vaccination drive for the ponies at Matheran on August 15, it added.