Carriage ban has new fans after Montreal’s horse play
Montreal’s temporary ban on horse-drawn carriages has some animal rights activists calling for Vancouver to follow suit, but those who care for the animals in Stanley Park say fears about cruelty are misplaced.
Peter Fricker of the Vancouver Humane Society welcomed the news of Montreal’s moratorium on the carriages, saying he hopes it will turn into a permanent ban and starts a countrywide trend.
“We’re opposed in principle to the use of horses to pull tourists as a tourist attraction in an urban setting because of the constant exposure to traffic, noise, pollution and the long hours standing,” he said. “We just don’t think it’s the right place for horses.”
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre announced the moratorium Wednesday, following a series of recent collisions involving horses. Just last month, a horse was injured when it collided with a car.
In the B.C. capital, the Victoria Horse Alliance has asked city council to phase out the horse-drawn carriage industry by next year.
In Vancouver, only six horsedrawn carriages are licensed by the city per year, and they’re all operated by Triple A Horse and Carriage. The company’s owner, Gerry O’Neil, estimates about 95 per cent of his business involves taking tourists on a short loop around Stanley Park.
While Fricker acknowledged Stanley Park is a different environment than the busy streets of Montreal, he believes Vancouver’s carriages should be put out of commission.
“The strain on the horse from being out long periods, lack of frequent access to pasture, the problem of long days in the heat — we just don’t think it’s a good idea,” he said.
At the boarding area for carriage tours Thursday, a woman in a bright yellow vest held up a stop sign to halt traffic every time a carriage entered the roadway.
While one American tourist, who asked not to be named, said she was feeling morally uneasy about taking a ride with her family, most visitors said they didn’t see the harm.
Californian Rhonda Harper described herself as an animal lover and said she felt reassured about the animals’ well-being after talking to a tour guide.
“We asked some questions. It seems like they’re really spoiled and loved,” she said.
Alan Markert said at his cabin in New York’s Amish country, workhorses are an everyday sight.
“I have no qualms about this. This is how our countries have grown up, is with horsepower,” he said.
For driver Edna Cayford, who’s been working at Triple A for 22 summers, the biggest concern is the welfare of the working animals. The 12 to 16 horses who do the Stanley Park route mainly belong to the Clydesdale, Belgian and Percheron breeds — all draft horses bred for heavy work.
“When they haven’t been out for a day or two,” Cayford said, “they come out all prancey and dancey and they want to work. They’re designed for pulling a load and they love to pull. You’re depriving them of one of their favourite things to do if you don’t have them working.”
Triple A owner O’Neil said his carriages haven’t been involved in a single crash in 35 years of operation. He attributes that to careful driving by his staff, as well as the fact the carriages mainly run on one-way streets with a 30 km/h speed limit.
“As far as the horses are concerned, we are regulated way more strictly than they are in Montreal,” O’Neil added.
Every horse needs to visit the vet regularly, and the company has to provide the park board with veterinary certificates. The animals work about four days each week, and get a break at a farm in the Fraser Valley every six weeks. They also rest at least 30 minutes between rides.
“The animals should come first,” O’Neil said.
Triple A also recently invested in a new plaza where the horses can rest between rides, with easy access to water, to reduce their stress and make them more comfortable.
Officers from the B.C. SPCA occasionally drop by the stables to check out the conditions as well. In a 2008 position paper, the animal welfare agency said that tourism by horse-drawn carriages is acceptable if the animals are trained humanely, face a low risk of injury, and receive adequate food and water, among other caveats.
An SPCA representative did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
According to a park board spokeswoman, there are no public complaints against Triple A on record, although she said that doesn’t mean none have been made.
You’re depriving them of one of their favourite things to do if you don’t have them working.