The Animal Rights Group yesterday challenged Transport Minister Austin Gatt to be "true to his word" by having the government construct and pay for shelters for karrozzin horses.

The horses are left for hours in the intense summer heat while their owners wait for business in tourist areas.

The group said it had become aware that the Transport Ministry had recently "changed its tune" over who should be responsible for the shelters.

Transport Malta last week said owners of horse-drawn cabs should build and maintain shelters for the animals to protect them from the heat without expecting the government to do so. The regulator said it understood the horses' needs but pointed out it was not the competent authority to protect animal rights.

But the animal lovers referred to a letter Dr Gatt wrote to the group last August, in reply to concerns over the horses, and quoted him as saying: "I can assure you that the Malta Transport Authority is all for the creation of shelters, and is willing to pay for them itself, provided that there is space for them and that they are used by the cab owners."

Further to that letter, the group said, a meeting took place in November between equine specialists, group representatives, ministry officials and an animal welfare officer. In that meeting, an "important" ministry official said: "Tell us what is required and we will see that it is provided", according to the group.

Although the equine specialists made their recommendations to the ministry sometime later, nothing has been done so far to rectify the situation, it complained.

The group said it was for the authorities to construct the shelters, although their maintenance would be the cab owners' responsibility.