(IN): Thane horses to sport a ‘chip’ on their shoulder

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Thane horses to sport a ‘chip’ on their shoulder

 

Implanted microchip will contain details of animals and their owners. It is

to deter tangawallas from abandoning animals once they outlive their use

 

*By Yogesh Sadhwani*

*

Posted On Thursday, March 04, 2010 at 03:02:18 AM

 

 

The 180-odd horses in Thane that are used for joyrides will soon be

microchipped. All thanks to a joint programme initiated by the SPCA Thane

and the Thane Police Commissionerate. The move comes after eight ageing and

ailing horses were found abandoned over a span of a year by their owners in

Thane.

The elaborate program which is already been flagged off, includes

vaccination all horses in the city and then implanting microchips in them.

The microchips will contain detail information of the horses and their

owners. This, according to the SPCA, will act as a deterrent for owners who

abandon the animals once they get old or are unable to work due to some

ailment or the other.

 

“In a span of one year eight horses were brought to our centre. Of these two

were spotted by our volunteers while six were traced after we received calls

from citizens. Of the eight four died, which saddened us a lot,” said

Shakuntala Majumdar of Thane SPCA.

 

She explained that the last one brought just a couple of months ago had

three spinal fractures on the spine apart from other injuries. All the

abandoned horses were either old or very ill.

 

The spate of incident moved everybody at SPCA and they decided to do

something. Since horses are used in Thane only for joyrides, one option was

to get a ban on the carriages.

 

It can be noted that both animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi and actor

Hema Malini have been advocating a ban on use of horses for pulling

carriages of any kind. But authorities at SPCA realised that a ban, even if

it is enforced would take away livelihood of several tangawalas.

 

“We figured that over 180 owners would be left with no source of income. We

thought about their families as well. Moreover, what was to be done with the

180 horses rescued after the ban,” added Majumdar. A microscopic chip is a

minuscule device with unique identification number embedded under the

horse’s skin.

 

If a horse with a microchip is found abandoned, the rescuing agency simply

needs to scan the microchip, retrieve the information, and thereby trace the

owner and the horse. Microchip would not only make the owners think twice

before abandoning their horses, but also help them trace the animal in case

it is lost or wanders away and is found by an agency.

 

It can be noted that during hurricane Katrina in the US, only horses with

microchips were reunited with their owners. The rescuing agencies scanned

the microchips and obtained information about their owners. The idea seemed

just fine to SPCA, which approached assistant commissioner of police R S

Tadvi, who is incharge of issuing licences to horse carriages every year.

 

Tadvi too liked the idea and immediately sought consensus from the owners as

well. “I am an animal lover and their plight moves me. When SPCA suggested

the plan to me, I liked it and called for a meeting of the horse owners. I

made them understand and they readily agreed,” said Tadvi.

 

To begin with, the SPCA has started vaccinating the horses. They already

vaccinated 50 horses. Once the vaccination is done, they will install

microchips in three days time. The organisation, however, is looking for

donors who can help them buy a scanner that would enable them to scan the

abandoned animals.