PETA India urges Matheran authorities to replace ponies with electric carriages after health camp reveals 95% of ponies are malnourished | https://resources.peta.org
Mumbai: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has demanded Matheran authorities to shift to electric carriages and end the sufferings of ponies used to haul goods on the hill station.
This demand arose after the organisation’s health camp report highlighted that nearly 95% of the ponies used to transport goods at Matheran are severely malnourished.
Recently, PETA India, Animal Rahat and Maharashtra Animal Husbandry Department conducted a joint health camp for ponies used to transport goods at the Matheran hill station. Through the health camp, it was found that nearly 95% of the ponies examined were severely malnourished, with visible ribs, spines, and pelvises.
The report noted that many of these equines bore painful, open wounds caused by ill-fitting tack and from carrying heavy loads up and down steep terrain without adequate rest or care.
The report claimed that some ponies were illegally controlled with spiked bit weapons, inflicting additional pain by tearing into their sensitive mouths, and many exhibited signs of lameness, vision impairments, and swollen joints but were forced to work.
The camp also highlighted pressing public health and environmental concerns. It claimed that accumulated animal waste near makeshift shelters subjects people to unhygienic conditions and creates a zoonotic disease risk, such as glanders, which is typically fatal for equines and humans.
PETA India presented the findings of the veterinary health camp to the Matheran Monitoring Committee. The organisation said that initially the committee was sensitive to the animals’ suffering and assured steps to reduce it. However, PETA India made the findings of the health camp public as the ponies are still being used to haul loads.
PETA India called upon the Matheran Monitoring Committee to replace ponies with eco-friendly electric transportation and to immediately rehabilitate ill and injured ponies to suitable sanctuaries.
Ujjwal Agrain, Sr. Policy Advisor with PETA India, said, “In 2025, treating animals mercilessly, and using them to haul heavy loads when eco-friendly vehicles are available is unnecessary and indefensible. Replacing animals with eco-friendly mechanisation is a humane and modern solution that will protect animals, promote public health, and preserve Matheran’s eco-tourism appeal.”
