It's asinine to horse about with nature

The theme of divine retribution has not escaped reiteration as the extent of the devastation of the Uttarakhand flooding became evident. However, an activist’s assertion that stranded horses and mules are threatening to turn man-eaters is a stretch even for imaginations running at full pelt.

It is not unknown for certain obdurate — dare we say mulish — members of the equine species to deliver a well-aimed kick or two from their hindquarters at human tormentors if the opportunity arises.

Even if they have somehow become aware of — and are incensed by — the recent scandal involving the secret widespread use of horsemeat in sausages and burgers in Europe, it is still unlikely they would want to “eat” humans in a ravaged corner of India as revenge. In fact, the worldwide outrage over the presence of horsemeat in processed food should convince horses and mules that a majority of humans do not condone the deed.

It seems more probable that the area’s obviously famished horses and mules sought humans out for succour, but the equally hungry people thought that they were being viewed as fodder. Maybe they were also wracked with guilt about routinely using the names of certain odd-toed ungulates as pejorative synonyms in many languages. The bottomline is that humans horse around with nature at their peril.