Petition for proper facilities for horses

Almost 8,000 people have signed a petition calling for airy shelters, water points and drains to protect karrozzini horses from the summer temperatures that reach between 34°C and 40°C.

The Animal Rights’ Coalition presented copies of the signed petition to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and opposition leader Joseph Muscat as they walked into Parliament yesterday.

Information leaflets, outlining the importance of these facilities, were also handed out to MPs.

Standing outside Parliament, coalition representative Myriam Kirmond said: “There is no worse scenario than seeing horses frothing at the mouth, with heads bowed low to try and cope with the merciless sun beating down on their unprotected bodies. This is a scenario seen year after year.”

In February, Transport Malta issued draft regulations for horse-drawn carriages that oblige operators to maintain and clean any shelters installed to provide shade for the horses.

Soon afterwards, it held a meeting with horse-drawn cab operators, but the two failed to reach an agreement on the financing of shelters. While the two sides agreed cab operators should maintain the shelters, they differed on how much money each cab operator should fork out to put up the shelters.

Ms Kirmond said the problem could be rectified by setting up low-cost shelters, as opposed to the ones proposed by Transport Malta that cost a “ridiculously high” €20,000 each. The coalition has always insisted that the authorities should pay to set up the shelters.