Horse-drawn carriages should be treated as an endangered species since they are a part of Maltese tradition that ought to be better looked after, according to two British animal welfare experts.
"The Maltese horses are well treated by their owners. We are not concerned with the condition of the horses but with the management system," veterinary surgeon Carl Boyde said.
His colleague Ramsay Hovell, a professor specialising in transport animals, said the authorities needed to improve the management of the karozzini on the road and the conditions in which the horses work.
The horses need shelter that covers their entire bodies while they wait for custom during the hot summer months, as well as drinking water and better hygiene.
But for this to happen, the experts said, there needed to be a greater effort and better coordination between the various ministers that represent tourism transport, roads and animal welfare.
The experts stressed that the horse owners were playing their part and it was now up to the authorities to work together for the welfare of the animals. The subject has been the centre of a battle on the part of animal rights associations at least for the past 10 years.
In fact, Dr Boyde and Prof. Hovell came to Malta last week at the request of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), which was in turn responding to complaints by the local NGO Animal Rights' Group.
Their job is to assess the situation of the horses that operate the karozzini and they will now draw up a report, which will recommend to local authorities how to improve their conditions. Besides those of local animal rights groups, Dr Boyde explained that the WSPA had also received independent reports from tourists who felt sorry for the horses left waiting in the sweltering summer heat while holidaying in Malta.
"They are a tourist attraction and should be safeguarded," Dr Boyle said, adding that there were currently about 60 carriages in operation on the island.
"Animal-loving tourists get the wrong impression when they see these animals spending a whole day in the sun without adequate shade or drinking water," he said. This could result in dehydration that may even lead to the horse collapsing.
He added that most carriage owners had more than one horse and rotated the animals to ensure they were not overworked.
Apart from that, the actual carriages were light.
The owners were doing their best. Now it was up to the authorities to work together to ensure the welfare of the animals, Prof. Hovell said.
During their visit to Malta the two men observed the state of the horse-drawn carriages in various parts of the island including the Valletta Waterfront and Mdina.
They also held meetings with representatives of the Floriana local council (under which the Valletta Waterfront falls), Animal Welfare Department, the General Workers' Union (that represents the kartozzini owners) and the Transport Ministry.
The first move to protect the animals from the summer sun came in 2005, when the government set up provisional shelters in St George's Square, in Valletta. However, these were criticised for being too few.
Eventually, however, even these shelters were dismantled in August when horse-drawn cab drivers were stopped from entering the centre of Valletta so the area could be turned into a pedestrian zone as part of the government's Valletta rehabilitation project.
Cab stands were temporarily relocated in various areas on the outskirts of the capital where there are no shelters yet. In fact, ever since this move, animal rights organisations have again called on government to provide shade and drinking water to these animals.
The government has said that the transport and tourism authorities were discussing the possibility of setting up shelters around the city.