Montreal bids farewell to its horse-drawn carriages

To tourists they are a time-honored, charming way of seeing the sights, but animal rights activists say Montreal’s horse-drawn carriages are a cruel and unnecessary relic of yesteryear.

A longstanding feud between the coachmen and their critics looks set to end however with the unique mode of transport set to disappear from the streets of Canada’s second city by year-end.

City Hall has ordered an end to the tourist rides out of concern for the horses. In 2018, the council passed a bylaw banishing horse-drawn carriages, starting in 2020.

Montreal carriage horse Blackjack injured and down. Photo: SPCA. — 20 year-old Montreal carriage horse Blackjack collapsed on the way back to the stable and was kicked by the driver when he wouldn’t get up. He and another 20-year old carriage horse were both rescued by the SPCA. SPCA Photo.

The death of a horse in 2018 (Charlot) while pulling a carriage was the last straw for animal rights groups and prompted Mayor Valérie Plante to say that Projet Montréal’s decision to shut down the calèche industry was the right one.

“It is a tradition that has long been appreciated but today I think it is time to move on,” said Jean-François Parenteau, the city’s pointman in the case.

The city, he said, must “show concern for the animals.”

In April, to prevent out-of-work horses from ending up at slaughterhouses, the city said it would pay the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Can$1,000 (US$760) for each horse offered a refuge or adoptive family.

City Hall, meanwhile, is working on a retraining program to help coachmen transition to other tourist jobs.

Source article »