Recently, the Uttarakhand High Court directed the state government to establish regulations for blacklisting individuals who own horses and mules involved in trekking activities, in cases where maltreatment of these animals is identified.

The court noted that imposing fines alone does not effectively discourage those who subject the animals to cruelty. As part of its directives to safeguard the well-being of horses employed in pilgrimage-related activities, the High Court issued a series of guidelines.

The court directives came after a month of video of two men forcing a horse to smoke weed through one of its nostrils went viral, in Social media platforms, initiating debates over the mistreatment of equines in Kedarnath.

According to the divsion bench of Chief Justice Vipin Singhi and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal, the most effective way to tackle cruelty towards equines is by blacklisting the owners.

"We are of the view that mere fining of the handlers or filing cases against them for inflicting cruelty to animals, is not sufficient to rein in and discipline the erring handlers/owners of order," the high court order reads.

Furthermore, the court directed the District Magistrate of Rudraprayag and other authorities to ensure that horses are not used between sunset and sunrise. This measure is aimed at providing the animals with sufficient rest.

The court also ordered that only registered equines and handlers should be allowed to cross the barrier at the beginning of the yatra route.

The order applies to the use of equines used in the Kedarnath, Yamunotri, and Hemkund Sahib. Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the bench also asked the state to compile data on equine deaths and analyse the reasons for such deaths.