Update on Global Campaigns to Ban Horse-Drawn CarriagesResources and information to help end abusive horse-drawn carriage businesses.
Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn
Carriages
June 2018
GOOD NEWS!
BARCELONA: As of June 1st, the City of Barcelona in Spain has banned
horse-drawn carriages. Click here. Deputy Mayor Janet Sanz for ecology
tweeted, “Barcelona is a friend to animals.”
Congratulations to all the activists in Barcelona and their legislators who
made this happen.
MONTREAL: There are more carriages and horses in Montreal than in Barcelona
and the campaign has been going on for a much longer time. However, victory
is around the corner. The City of Montreal just announced that it will be
shutting down the industry as of December 31, 2019, giving the drivers ample
time to get new jobs. Montreal announces new animal bylaw, moves to ban
horse-drawn carriages
AND
Montrealers Should be Proud of their New Animal Control Laws
We hope this comes to pass. The Mayor of NYC promised to ban horse-drawn
carriages and also gave it a date - but he reneged and nothing happened.
Nevertheless, the
activists in Montreal deserve a lot of credit for their perseverance and
tenacity in not giving up on the horses.
BAD NEWS!
BIRMINGHAM, AL: Although there was a lot of opposition, the Mayor signed the
order to allow a horse-drawn carriage business to work in Birmingham. It
sounds like a sweetheart deal to us, particularly since there were no public
hearings. We hope activists in Birmingham monitor this new business closely.
TELLURIDE, CO - a similar situation to Birmingham. Faced with a lot of
opposition, the City Council nevertheless voted unanimously to allow
horse-drawn carriages
SOME MOVEMENT:
CHICAGO -- the campaign continues in Chicago with some Alderman proposing
allowing the horses to work in parks rather than on the street: Click here
This generally happens when legislators know they have to do something but
are too afraid to call for an outright ban. What they refuse to understand
and acknowledge is that this is just as much about a horse's nervous nature
as it is about being on the street with cars. Horses can spook in parks just
as easily as on the street.
VICTORIA - the campaign also continues in Victoria, British Columbia. One
bright spot is that the SPCA has come out in favor of a ban. However, they
are still suggesting that the horses work in the parks.
ROME - legislation has been introduced to restrict the horse carriages to
four of the city's parks -with the belief that it is safer than the street.
We do not subscribe to this idea because a horse can spook anywhere -
streets or parks. The legislation is opposed by the carriage drivers who
apparently have a lot of power.
CHARLESTON - the campaign here has also been going on for several years.
Recently one of the carriage companies filed a law suit against the
Charleston Animal Society and a local activist, claiming a violation against
the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. The bizarre thing about this lawsuit is
that as of today, the actual papers have not been served and makes us wonder
if the carriage drivers used the courts for a public relations campaign.
OTHER AREAS:
In the last few months, the Coalition has heard about bad conditions for
carriage horses in the Aran Islands in Ireland and in Seville, Spain. In
both cases, this was brought to our attention by tourists who had vacationed
there but lived in other countries. There did not appear to be any animal
activism on this issue in either Spain or Ireland.
If you need help, contact us at [email protected]
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