ALLIANCE FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS (A.F.A.R.)

                                                          AFAR is one of the supporting organizations listed on the CBHC site http://www.banhdc.org/ .

We fully support Council Member Tony Avella's bill to ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC - Intro 658.  
See Blinders: the truth behind the tradition of NEW YORKS horse -drawn carriages in its entirety .For more information about this documentary go to www.blindersthemovie.com

Also we have made a detailed submission regarding the plight of horses who pull loads to the Department of Agriculture here in Ireland to be considered for inclusion in the upcoming animal welfare bill .

AFAR SUBMISSION TO THE ANIMAL HEALTH & WELFARE BILL 2008.

(PART OF: below)

WELFARE OF CARRIAGE HORSES AND HORSES USED FOR SUSPENSION SULKIES (TWO-WHEELED CARTS) AND PONY CARTS. 

The Alliance for Animal Rights is opposed to the operation of horse-drawn carriages, sulkies (two-wheeled vehicles) and pony carts in urban areas. The health risks to the horses are too severe. These include leg-damaging work on hard, paved streets, the very real threat of collisions with motorised vehicles, and stress due to extreme heat or cold outdoor temperatures. In addition, accidents involving horse-drawn carriages in cities have resulted in some serious, even fatal, injuries to carriage drivers or passengers. Ideally we campaign towards a complete ban but for the purposes herein we make a case for the Welfare of horses made to pull loads or carts as outlined above.

We have serious concerns at the lack of Government legislation with the exception of the DUBLIN CARRIAGE ACT 1853.  We consider here the welfare and safety monitoring and the extent of public liability coverage, including maximum passenger loads, the qualifications required of drivers, routes worked, operating hours, details of where and how frequently horses will be fed, watered and rested during operating hours, horse breeds and details of stabling.

Horse-drawn carriages are not the desirable trip down "memory lane" that they are portrayed to be. Instead, they present potentially serious threats to the safety of both people and horses. Mixing horse-drawn vehicles with pedestrians and motor vehicle traffic is inherently dangerous. Contrary to operator's claims, most horses are not at all comfortable working among cars and trucks. Horses can easily be "spooked" — no matter how well trained they may be. Horses may become startled by sudden noises like sirens, horns, motorcycles and thunder, and cause accidents by running into traffic or onto paths.

 PETITION FOR SIGNING ON 'Petitions page'.

From The Times
February 26, 2009
Horsedrawn carriages wait for custom in front of the Colosseum, in Rome

The carriages will be allowed to work in the city centre only at weekends
Richard Owen in Rome

The clip-clop of hooves on Rome’s cobbled streets is to be silenced after a campaign by animal rights activists. The 44 horsedrawn carriages are to be banned on weekdays and replaced by electrically powered vintage cars.

The carriages will be confined to city parks such as the Villa Borghese Gardens during the week, under plans drawn up by Rome city council, and allowed in the city centre only at weekends. Drivers will be able to apply for a “double licence” — for carriages and the electric “period” cars.

Michela Vittoria Brambilla, the Deputy Minister for Tourism, said that the plight of horses drawing the carriages in polluted and crowded streets had become a scandal, leading to the deaths of several animals among the 90 employed in the trade. “The time has come to abolish this anachronism,” she said.

Last year Birillo, a 17-year-old bay horse, fell and broke a leg on a cobbled street near the Colosseum when it panicked after being grazed by a lorry that failed to stop. Veterinary surgeons gave the horse a lethal injection after it had been on the ground in agony for four hours, watched by a horrified crowd. Another horse died after being struck by a car.

Gianni Alemanno, the Mayor of Rome, who in the past has defended the carriages (known as botticelle) as a Roman tradition, has yet to sign the new regulation into force.

Claudio Locuratolo, of the Rome branch of ENPA, the Italian Society for the Protection of Animals, said that animal rights campaigners had long supported the idea of substituting vintage cars for horsedrawn vehicles. “This is a decision worthy of the civilisation of the Eternal City,” he said.

Augusto Manzone, a carriage driver — like his father and grandfather before him — said that drivers would resist the move. “We want to work with our horses, not with cars,” he said. He treated his two horses, Amantino and Poppi, “like my own children”. “We are an institution in Rome, like the gondolas of Venice.”

The answer lay in regular veterinary checks to ensure that the horses were in good health, he said.

Critics say that the horses are often forced to work during the hottest part of the day and are not properly cared for. Tourists are often overcharged by operators who, in the absence of an official tariff, charge up to €250 (£197) for an hour’s trip.

Last year Gianni Mancuso, a centre-right deputy, tabled a parliamentary question demanding to know “what the Government intends to do about this scandal”. Mr Mancuso, a veterinary surgeon, said that city regulations banned horsedrawn carriage drivers plying their trade between 1pm and 5pm from July to September, but this was “routinely flouted”.

The horses were also a health hazard, he said, because their parking places — including St Peter’s Square, the Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps — were “open-air latrines”.

He said that the drivers worked the horses “to death”, dispatching them to the knackers’ yard when they were no longer able to work. 

Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages Wh   WHY a Horse-Drawn Carriage Ban is Necessary ... lit=rriages

Horse-drawn carriages constitute a danger to people in vehicles, on bicycles, and on foot, as well as the horses themselves. The Alliance for Animal Rights is opposed to the operation of horse-drawn carriages, sulkies (two-wheeled vehicles) and pony carts in urban areas. The health risks to the horses are too severe. These include leg-damaging work on hard, paved streets, the very real threat of collisions with motorised vehicles, and stress due to extreme heat or cold outdoor temperatures. In addition, accidents involving horse-drawn carriages in cities have resulted in some serious, even fatal, injuries to carriage drivers or passengers.

We have serious concerns at the lack of Government legislation with the exception of the DUBLIN CARRIAGE ACT 1853.  We consider here the welfare and safety monitoring and the extent of public liability coverage, including maximum passenger loads, the qualifications required of drivers, routes worked, operating hours, details of where and how frequently horses will be fed, watered and rested during operating hours, horse breeds and details of stabling.

Horse-drawn carriages are not the desirable trip down "memory lane" that they are portrayed to be. Instead, they present potentially serious threats to the safety of both people and horses. Mixing horse-drawn vehicles with pedestrians and motor vehicle traffic is inherently dangerous. Contrary to operator's claims, most horses are not at all comfortable working among cars and trucks. Horses can easily be "spooked" — no matter how well trained they may be. Horses may become startled by sudden noises like sirens, horns, motorcycles and thunder, and cause accidents by running into traffic or onto paths. London, Paris, Beijing, Toronto and U.S. States say 'no'

Among the major cities that have imposed a prohibition on the use of horse-drawn vehicles for tourism - either for humane or congestion reasons - are London, Paris, Toronto and Beijing. In the US, bans have arisen directly from protests by residents. Palm Beach and Las Vegas, as well as Biloxi and Santa Fe are among the affected cities.

THE IRISH STATISTICS

The Carriage Department in Dublin Castle is the body in charge of issuing licences for the Horse carriages on Dublin’s streets. It was part of the old Dublin Metropolitan Police. The first Carriage Inspector was appointed in 1842.

The main role of the old Carriage Department was the licensing of Horse Drawn Carriages and their drivers and also to enforce the Carriage Acts.

The use of horse drawn carriages has long since dwindled and the Present day Carriage Office is concerned with all types of vehicles used for the carriage of passengers (Public Service Vehicles). This office enforces the Public Service Vehicle Regulations, a PSV licence is required by a Carriage driver.

In the Dublin Region at present there are 12,844 Taxis, 5,818 Hackneys, 880 Limousines,* 49 Horse Drawn Carriages, 1,475 buses and 25,416 licensed PSV drivers - currently active. Records of all licences are maintained at the Carriage Office (figures as of January 2006).

*WE ESTIMATE THE 2006 FIGURES ARE WAY BELOW THE CURRENT NUMBER ON THE ROAD.

THE CURRENT REQUIREMENTS (OR LACK OF)

All that is required of a person requiring a PSV licence for a Horse-drawn Carriage is either a Veterinary report for the horse or an ISPCA recommendation in writing on an annual basis, the latter is given by the ISPCA if the person in question is known to them. We have reliable information that only the ‘good ones’ (horses) are tested.

The Carriage office is concerned as we are that the horse ‘checked’ can be easily switched to a less fit horse. This  means that  basically any horse can be used once a licence is obtained.

Horses unable to pull the load or unsuitable horses can suffer due to this.

Carriage drivers are NOT REQUIRED to have any insurance by law. So no check is made as regards Insurance. There is no Provision in the Act regarding Insurance.

NO DRIVING TEST is required.

The Gardai issue licences under the Section 2 of the Dublin Carriages Act 1853.

Article 2 of the Act provides that Licences are granted to persons under 18 years in limited circumstances.

As these Vehicles are very large and are travelling interspersed by cars, trucks and trams. We feel they should have compulsory insurance like every other vehicle on public roads, especially as paying passengers are carried.

NO REGULATIONS APPLY TO HORSES AND PONIES DRAWING CARTS OR SULKIE TWO-WHEELED CARTS.

Control of Horses Bill 1996. Part 3 Control of horses

29-(1) Inspection of horses.

Although this section makes provisions for Inspection of Horses, no provision or reference is made in this bill specifically for Horses drawing vehicles or the implications below which relate to them. The number of horse licences obtained under this Act is far lower than the actual number of horses that are in the country. Implementation is the problem.