Govt set to register ponies
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 22 2019: As a part of its initiative to protect Manipuri Pony which has been already designated as a critically endangered species, the State Government has resolved to register all Manipuri ponies.

Speaking to media persons at his Sanjenthong office this afternoon, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Services Director Dr H Chaoba said that ponies would be registered under the Manipuri Pony Conservation and Development Policy 2016 .

Details of each and every pony and their owners would be collected together with photographs (of both the horses and owners) for registration and a unique identification number would be issued for each pony, Dr Chaoba said.

Govt set to register ponies

A separate counter would be opened at the office of the directorate for registration of ponies apart from designating a nodal officer for the same purpose, said the Director.

He said that Manipur Ponies are on the verge of extinction as their number has been dwindling day by day although they are central to the game of Polo and closely associated with the history of Manipur.

The department decided to register ponies after consultation with pony lovers and other stake holders on how to preserve the endangered horse breed.

The Director then appealed to all pony owners to bring their horses to the office of the directorate for registration.

If the pony owners find it difficult to bring their horses to the office, the department's field staff would visit them for the necessary process of registration, he said.

He also informed that the registration fee has been fixed at a nominal rate of Rs 50.After registration, pony owners would be given grant or subsidy as well as other monetary assistance, Dr Chaoba said.

Meanwhile, the State Government has completed acquisition of 23 acres of land for the Marjing Polo Complex, Heingang.

Construction of fence around the complex has also been completed.

A total amount of Rs 2 crore has been earmarked for the complex during the current financial year.

At the same time, the State Government has been seeking another Rs 6 crore from NABARD, the Director said.

He said that horses are carriers of the virus which spreads Japanese Encephalitis but the horses are more or less immune to the particular virus.

As such, horses are seldom infected by JE.

Even if they are infected by JE, they do not die.

But this does not mean all horses carry JE virus, Dr Chaoba clarified.

Just like cows and pigs, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Services has been carrying out sero-monitoring surveillance on horses too by collecting blood samples, he informed.

He also appealed to the public particularly pony owners and polo clubs to cooperate with the directorate in the process of registering ponies.

Replying to a query, the Director, citing the 19th Livestock Census of 2012, said that the total population of ponies in the State would be around 1000.The 20th Livestock Census was held in 2017 and all the State's data were submitted to the Central Government.

However, as the livestock census operation has not been completed in some States, the Central Government is yet to publish any report of the census.

Whereas rearing horses costs quite a lot of money, they are not used for ploughing fields or pulling carriages in the State.

They have very little commercial utility in the State and these are the primary reasons for the fast dwindling pony population, he remarked.

Another major factor contributing to the dwindling population of pony is castration of matured males for playing polo.

The Manipur Pony Conservation and Development Policy 2016 has certain sections for regulating castration of matured males, he added.