Brussels will stop using horse-drawn carriages in January 2024 and switch to animal-free electric alternatives.
Brussels has become the latest city to ban horse-drawn carriages,
with legislation coming into effect in January 2024. In a move to
promote animal welfare, the Belgian capital will replace these
carriages with animal-free electric alternatives, according to
authorities.
Horse-drawn carriage rides around Brussels currently attract 15,000
tourists yearly, with this service offered by a single operator,
Thibault Danthine, and three horses who have been working
continuously for more than ten years.
"I've been fighting for four years for the horses that ride around
the city centre with tourists. It was hard to see the animals
lugging tourists around every day,” said Zoubida Jellab, Alderman
for Animal Welfare in Brussels. “Sometimes they only had a
five-minute break between two rides. In these temperatures, it's
even more difficult.”
Jellab said that the switch from horses to electric vehicles will
not result in any loss of business for the operator, with current
schedules kept in place. The three new carriages will look almost
identical, just without the horse.
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