Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has granted two weeks’ time to the Assam government to file a response in the matter regarding the dwindling number of feral horses in the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park. The NGT has granted a similar timeframe to the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), the Wildlife Institute of India and the Zoological Survey of India for filing responses, as the Tribunal is concerned about the alleged critically endangered status of the feral horses.
The order was issued recently by a Coram of the NGT’s Eastern Zone Bench at Kolkata, comprising Justice B. Amit Sthalekar as Judicial Member and Dr. Satyagopal Korlapati as Expert Member, while hearing a petition (Original Application No.08/2025/EZ) filed on the basis of a news item titled “The last feral horses in India” appearing in an environmental magazine on November 5, 2024.
The news item alleged that the feral horses in Dibru-Saikhowa National Park in Assam are critically endangered. Also, that the feral horses 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.
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, loss of habitat, shrinking of grazing lands, floods, and neglect by conservation authorities as among the several causes behind the dwindling number of these horses.
The article further alleged that in 2020, the authorities allegedly apprehended a truck trying to smuggle 6 feral horses, but 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 difficult to ascertain their conservation status. Conservationists argue that without urgent intervention, these unique animals face extinction.
At the recent hearing, it was observed that an affidavit dated April 4, 2025, has been filed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), New Delhi and the same has been taken on record.
The counsel appearing in Virtual Mode on behalf of the Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam and Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Department, Government of Assam respectively, prayed for and was granted a further two weeks time for filing counter-affidavit in the matter.
Moreover, the counsel present in the court on behalf of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Wildlife Institute of India and Zoological Survey of India respectively, also prayed for and was granted further two weeks time for filing counter-affidavit.
Also Read: Assam: NGT Directs Dispur to File Counter-Affidavits Within Four Weeks on Feral Horses
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