Horses pulling tourist-filled carriages on sightseeing tours do not enjoy adequate legal protection, Animal Welfare Commissioner Emanuel Buhagiar told the Times of Malta.

“This is something I have been pressing for years now. Every summer, a large number of complaints are filed with my office, and we are starting to receive them again this year,” he said.

Last year Mr Buhagiar received some 398 reports of animal cruelty. Most of the complaints filed by tourists, he said, were about horse-drawn carriages, and horses being made to stand in the baking sun for long stretches.

Mr Buhagiar’s warning could not have been better-timed: on Tuesday morning, workers in Valletta’s Tritons Square began works to install horse shelters in the popular square.

Mr Buhagiar said he had also been informed that signatures were being collected to ban the carriages completely.

The commissioner said that the regulations on animal cruelty included in the Animal Welfare Act were vague.

The transport authorities had also introduced regulations on horse-drawn carriages – however, Mr Buhagiar explained, these were limited to matters of road safety and did not weigh in on animal cruelty or welfare.

The subsidiary legislation, which is known as the Use of Animals and Animal-Drawn Vehicles on the Road Regulations, outlines how drivers should be qualified in the maintenance of adequate equine welfare and also follow the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act.

“I discussed this with Transport Malta when they were first drafting the regulations, and while they recognised the importance of protecting the horses, this was not their remit as such,” Mr Buhagiar said. 

He said it was time to discuss the matter with stakeholders to ensure horses were given adequate protection.

“One thing we should discuss is whether we can provide some form of shade for horses, not only when they are waiting to pick up passengers, but also when they are working,” he said, adding that some countries had introduced a system that provided shade using an umbrella attached to the carriage itself. 

Mr Buhagiar said that a special kind of sun cream to protect horses from overexposure to the sun was also available.

The Times of Malta reported last year that the government was drafting legal amendments to close loopholes in the Animal Welfare Act.

Although the Act outlaws negligence, animal rights campaigners have long complained that the definition of ‘maltreatment’ in the law is too vague.

Mr Buhagiar explained that that although the amendments to the Act were now in Parliament, the welfare issue could persist through the hotter months, as they may not be made into law before the House closes for the summer recess.