Montreal moves to ban horse-drawn carriages
City also imposes strict conditions on dangerous dogs
MONTREAL — The elegant draft horses that pull tourist calèches through Old Montreal will soon be clip-clopping their way into the city’s history books as the municipal administration moves forward with a plan to ban the activity as of 2020.
City Coun. Craig Sauvé said Thursday he’s introducing a regulation to end the horse-drawn carriages amid growing concern over the welfare of the animals, despite tighter rules imposed on the industry in recent years.
“The conclusions are clear: The unfortunate incidents involving horses and calèches have continued to occur,” he told a news conference.
Similar concerns have arisen in Victoria about horse-drawn carriages.
The B.C. SPCA recommended this month that they be banned from Victoria streets following an incident last month in which two horses struggled to find their footing after one fell, taking the other down with it.
“Permitting the continued operation of horse-drawn tours on busy streets places horses at risk of injury or death,” B.C. SPCA CEO Craig Daniell wrote in a letter city council. “If tours continue, they should only take place in the safer park environment to reduce dangers to public safety and animal welfare.”
In Montreal, there have been at least four accidents involving carriage horses since 2014, as well as several hundred citizen complaints over the treatment of the horses, according to data provided by the city.
There were also 14 tickets given out in 2016 and 2017 for infractions related to horse health and the state of the carriages.
The city’s new regulation would prohibit horse-drawn carriages anywhere on Montreal’s territory as of Dec. 21, 2019.
Sauvé said the timeline would give drivers and owners enough time find other work, noting the administration had been promising to end the carriage horse industry since last fall’s municipal election.
“We see there have been a lot of cases of horses being mistreated, horses dying while doing their calèche activities,” Sauvé said. “We promised in the campaign to put an end to this industry, and we’re giving them a year and a half to adjust, and we think that’s enough time.”
The city also unveiled its revamped animal-control bylaw, six months after overturning the previous administration’s ban on pit bull-type dogs.
Former mayor Denis Coderre enacted the pit bull ban in 2016 after a 55-year-old Montreal woman died as a result of a dog attack in her backyard.
Mayor Valérie Plante’s administration revoked the ban in December and held a series of citizen consultations to come up with the framework that was presented on Thursday.
While the new regulations do not target a specific breed, they impose tough conditions on dogs that are considered dangerous due to past behaviour.
Any dog involved in an altercation or which shows signs of aggression must wear a muzzle, be kept on a short leash away from children, and be evaluated by a behavioural expert to determine whether it should be destroyed or whether the owner should abide by strict conditions.
Owners of potentially dangerous dogs must be at least 19 and cannot have been convicted of an animal-related or violent crime.
The bylaw introduces mandatory sterilization of dogs, cats and rabbits, and will require pet stores to sell only rescued animals.
It also brings in new welfare rules, including a ban on spiked or electric collars and a rule preventing dogs from being left tied outside for more than three hours.
Sauvé said the city’s approach will do a better job of reducing dog bites than breedspecific legislation, which he described as both ineffective and hard to apply.
Both of Montreal’s animal-themed bylaws are expected to take effect once they are adopted at a city council meeting.
While the Montreal SPCA praised both the animal-control bylaw and the calèche ban, the owner of the city’s largest carriage horse operation was firmly opposed to the move.
Luc Desparois, who owns 22 horses and operates a stable near downtown, accused the administration of taking away at least 50 jobs and robbing the city of a historic profession he calls “a jewel of Montreal.”
Desparois said he has been the victim of animal activists and special-interest groups who have worked to shut him down at all costs, despite the fact he has followed all the city’s regulations.
He vehemently denies his horses are mistreated and said he has the vet records to prove it. “Come and visit them and see: there’s not a mark on them, not a sick one among them.”