Rome animal activists push for a ban on horse-drawn carriages

2008-07-10 06:00:22 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - Education)

Helena, Montana (WiredPRNews.com) — An animal activist never sleeps and now, a team of activists are setting their sites on a ban on horse-drawn carriage that, they insist, are inhumane methods for tourists to view the historic Colosseum and other Italian monuments.

On Tuesday, activists told the Associated Press that the time is come to end the use of carriages citing that “traffic, pollution, heat and heavy carriages expose the horses to health risks.” Moreover, the horses have been reported to sleep in stalls that are unkempt, humid and dark.

ENPA is a an association of activists who patrol the streets to monitor the horses’ condition with 1,700 volunteers. One of those sympathetic volunteers, Claudio Locuratolo, said, “They are in disastrous condition, forced to work in an urban environment and exposed to a million dangers.” The image of the 90 horses that walk the streets with loads of people latched to their backs amidt speeding cars and motorcycles saddens the association and sprung them into actio.

In a stern appeal to Rome’s city hall, the activists have asked for the horse-drawn carriage be brought to a halt and the coachmen be rehired as taxi cab drivers instead which would keep the coachmen employed. City hall, who has the jurisdiction to license both the carriages and cabs, has not given a public statement and as of press time, refused to comment.

The coachmen are not amused. In fact, they insist that their horses are kept in satisfactory conditions and are treated humanely and compassionately. “The horses are our partners at work, and very often, they are also partners for life,” said Roberto Sonnino, owner of five horses and veteran coachman of two decades.

Coachmen do admit, however, that stable conditions could be better but they have not other place to keep them.

A Rome veterinarian told the Associated Press that with a slow, steady pace, horses are capable of handling the weight.

Wired Education Reporter

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