The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognizance of the critically endangered status of the feral horses in the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park in Assam, India, which have survived in the wild for nearly 80 years and the national park is the only place in India where these horses can be found.
The Original Application is registered suo-moto on the basis of the news item dated November 05, 2024.
As per the article, these horses are believed to be descendants of war horses from World War II, while other theories suggest they could be descendants of China’s Przewalski’s horses.
The article cites smuggling, habitat loss, shrinking grazing lands, floods, and neglect by conservation authorities as the alleged causes behind the dwindling number of these horses.
The article alleges that in 2020, the authorities allegedly apprehended a truck trying to smuggle 6 feral horses.
It quotes that since feral horses are not covered under the wildlife protection act, 1972 they are not considered wild animals therefore even upon arrest, getting a conviction becomes difficult. Furthermore, there has been no regular census of the horses, which makes it challenging to ascertain their conservation status.
It also highlights that the frequent flooding of the Brahmaputra River not only damages the grazing grounds but also exacerbates the erosion of the park’s land, reducing space for the horses to survive. The horses are also under threat from reduced biodiversity in their ecosystem, which further limits food availability. Apart from that, various human activities and cattle farms from nearby forest villages degrade their habitat. Conservationists argue that without urgent intervention, these unique animals face extinction.
The Principal Bench comprising Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert Member Dr A Senthil Vel impleaded the Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam, National Biodiversity Authority, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Wildlife Institute of India, and Zoological Survey of India as respondents, directing them to file responses.
The case was transferred to the Eastern Zonal Bench at Kolkata, with a hearing scheduled for February 27, 2025.
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