Drivers of Mumbai’s iconic horse-drawn carriages can’t imagine not plying the roads pulling photo-snapping tourists atop their kitsch-covered chariots. Yet that time is coming, thanks to a court order calling such superfluous “joyrides” a form of animal cruelty and banning them in India’s financial capital from June 2016. Carts pulled by horses, oxen or camels and used for transportation or labour are exempt.

Animal rights activists have argued that the carriages are illegally operating without permits, and were subjecting the animals to abuse by forcing them to work overtime. They alleged dozens of cases in which horses were injured or went lame.

Losing the trade will devastate the 700 or so families that rely on it for their livelihoods. On a good day they can earn up to 3,000 rupees (Dh173), charging anywhere from 200 to 1,000 rupees a ride. But most days are not so good. In the end, they make just enough to pay their families’ apartment rental fees and cover the 500-rupee-a-day costs of feeding and caring for each of their beasts of burden.

Many of the drivers fear they’ll be left jobless and will lose both their homes and their horses. Some vowed to fight the ban, and noted that horse carriages produced none of the toxic emissions put out by vehicles.

bbabo.Net