Anti- calèche group pans city’s report on horses

The Anti- Calèche Defence Coalition says it’s not satisfied by the report released by the city of Montreal Thursday on the health of horses that pull carriages in Old Montreal.

“( Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre) should inform the citizens regarding the standards employed to evaluate the health of the calèche horses,” said Mirella Colalillo, the founder of the organization, who hadn’t seen the report but had read summaries of it in the media.

“If they were in depth, then why do we still see sick and malnourished horses in the streets after this report?” Colalillo wrote in a statement on behalf of the organization.

Coderre called for the report after a picture of a fallen horse at a construction site near the corner of Peel and Notre- Dame Sts. went viral on social media in mid- July. The horse, named Marilyn, was seen by a veterinarian after the fall and was treated for wounds.

Released by the city on Thursday, the report stated that the health of calèche horses in the Ville- Marie borough has never been better. Coderre presented the report at the city’s executive committee meeting on Wednesday, when he pledged to release it to the public.

Colalillo raised several questions about the report including whether the stables were inspected and if the calèche drivers have regular working permits. “These are all questions that we’d like the mayor to answer,” Colalillo said in the statement.

“The veterinarian inspects each of the horses based on their weight, heart and respiratory rate, gait, vision, the presence of wounds and several other health factors,” said Geneviève Dubé, a spokesperson for the City of Montreal. Only specialists like veterinarians can interpret the standards, Dubé said.

Dubé noted that stables are regularly inspected, that drivers must apply for and renew their permits to work on the calèches annually.

Another calèche horse fell Thursday night in Old Quebec. A photo of the horse, Sammy, was posted to the Anti- Calèche Defence Coalition’s Facebook page and an additional page was started for the Quebec City region. Calèches Québec, a horse- drawn carriage operator in Quebec City, responded to posts on the page that Sammy was doing “very well” and was recovering from minor scratches on her knee.