Protecting feral horses: NGT asks Centre to refer request for scientific study to WII

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Eastern Zone bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Kolkata disposed of an Original Application with a direction to the Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam, who is also the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Wildlife & Chief Wildlife Warden, to take steps for protection of the Feral Horses as per the Management Plans of the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park. For the proper management of the feral horses, the Tribunal also directed the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to take into consideration the request of the Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam, for undertaking a scientific study by referring the same to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun.

The order was issued recently by a Coram of the NGT comprising Justice B. Amit Sthalekar as Judicial Member and Dr Arun Kumar Verma 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.

 After hearing the counsel for the parties and perusing the documents on record, the Coram observed that the consistent stand of the respondents is that the origin of the feral horses in the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is not known and there are theories that they may be descendants of horses left behind during World War II or from the tea gardens or that they may be descendants of China's Przewalski's horses. There are only about 175-250 feral horses residing in the core and buffer areas of the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.

Moreover, the habitat of the feral horses is acknowledged by the respondent authorities to have been threatened by annual flooding. The stand of the respondents is that at present, feral horses are not mentioned in the Schedule of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, but nevertheless, their protection can still be undertaken under the Management Plan by the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, as stated in the affidavit of the PCCF. He also suggested that a request be made to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, for carrying out a scientific study for the proper management of feral horses.

The MoEF&CC also has suggested that the PCCF is empowered under Section 33 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, to control, manage and protect all protected areas notified under the Act in accordance with such a management plan.

In view of this, the Tribunal disposed of this original application with a direction to the Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam, who is also the PCCF, Wildlife & Chief Wildlife Warden, to take steps for the protection of the feral horses as per management plans of the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park. It also directed the MoEF&CC to take into consideration the request of the Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam, for undertaking a scientific study by referring the same to the WII, Dehradun, which will be useful for the proper management of the feral horses.

Earlier, the NGT 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 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.

Also Read: Assam: NGT Directs Dispur to File Counter-Affidavits Within Four Weeks on Feral Horses

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