Death Toll of Horses at Jabalpur Stud Farm Rises to 19

The surviving horses in the farm, which numbered to 38, are currently under the supervision of a 5-member monitoring team comprising two veterinary doctors and two field officers. Of the six horses that died on the farm over the last week, two succumbed to septicemia, two died due to paralysis, one died of colic pain and the remaining one succumbed to respiratory problems, Dr Tiwari said.

The surviving horses are doing well and under constant supervision of the doctors’ team, she said. According to her, it is confirmed that no horses on the farm suffered from Glanders disease. However, the horse number 644 was earlier suspected to have been infected by Glanders, but after tests, it has been confirmed that it is a borderline case (means negative), she said.

The particular horse is isolated and now healthy, she said. Sources disclosed to this newspaper that the stud farm owner, Sachin Tiwari, has written a letter to the supervising team seeking permission to shift the surviving horses to Hyderabad.

“We are going to put up a note to the Jabalpur district collector giving our view on the issue”, a senior veterinary officer has revealed. Sources disclosed that the Jabalpur district collector is weighing the option of granting permission for shifting the horses to Hyderabad.

The Jabalpur district collector is seeking legal opinion in this regard since the matter is pending in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Animal rights activist Simran Issar had earlier moved the Madhya Pradesh high court seeking action against those responsible for the death and sickness of the horses because of their transportation from Hyderabad to the Raipura farm. The petition was admitted by the court on July three and the date of the hearing in the case was first fixed on August 7. The date of the hearing has now been fixed to October 9.

Talking to Deccan Chronicle, Issar said, "The documents submitted by respondent number nine, and I think respondent number eight as well, which Sachin Tiwari and Hithanet are false. The receipts from the transporter don’t add up. How many horses leave and how many arrive? Our hearing was first set for the seventh or eighth this month, but the judges weren’t hearing cases for three days, and it landed right in the middle of that. So they’ve set a hearing for October. We’re working on our rejoinder and once we’re ready, we’ll ask the judge for a earlier date, hopefully before October."