The SPCA would like carriage tours to be restricted to park areas. Photograph By ADRIAN LAM, TIMES COLONIST
The B.C. SPCA is recommending horse-drawn carriages be banned from Victoria streets following an incident last month in which two horses struggled to find their footing after one and took another down with it.
“Permitting the continued operation of horse-drawn tours on busy streets places horses at risk of injury or death, says Craig Daniell, SPCA CEO.
If carriage tours are to continue, they should be limited to safer park areas, he says.
“If tours continue, they should only take place in the safer park environment to reduce dangers to public safety and animal welfare,” Daniell writes.
Councillors will consider the letter Thursday. Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe, council’s lead on animal welfare issues, is recommending city staff report back with any information council might need to fully consider the SPCA recommendation.
“Whereas in the past people have mentioned exhaust fumes; the heat; the walking on pavement; the care of the horses [as concerns], in their letter they don’t refer to any of those being an issue.
“The major issue is that the streets are getting busier and maybe drivers are being less patient and because of that can be a danger to the horses and to the passengers,” Thornton-Joe said.
Thornton-Joe says most of the animal welfare recommendations she has brought to council have come from the SPCA.
“In the past, the B.C. SPCA has never asked me or asked council to ban horse-drawn carriages. They’ve only asked us to bring in certain guidelines to ensure the safety of horses and the passengers,” she said.
Other SPCA recommendations include:
• Horse-drawn vehicles be limited to those that require only one horse to operate.
• Establishing emergency procedures and standard operating procedures or urgent situations.
• Requiring operators to complete an incident report which would include incident description, location, time duration and witness details.
• Requiring each operator to have an emergency kit for each carriage containing an extra halter, four traffic cones and first aid kits for both people and horses.
Daniell says video of the May 4 accident at Ogden Point in which one of a team of two horses fell is “alarming,” saying it “posed a serious threat to public safety and the animals’ welfare.”
The video footage also appears to contradict statements about the incident released by Victoria Carriage Tours, he says.
While the company initially indicated both horses remained calm throughout the incident and patiently waited for handlers to remove their harnesses, the footage shows otherwise, he says.
“The handlers prompted the horses to stand while still harnessed, putting them at further risk of injury,” he says.
Veterinarian and equine specialist Bettina Bobsien, asked by the SPCA to comment on the incident, said she was concerned about the apparent lack of emergency training displayed by the handlers.
“The harnesses should have been removed immediately, not after the horses had been struggling for at least five minutes on the pavement,” Bobsien writes.
“Helpers were not directed to stay away from the leg side of the down horses, putting them at significant risk of injury.”
Victoria Carriage Tours said the accident occurred after a bus pulled up directly behind a trolley being pulled by the horses, Daniell says.
As the trolley prepared to move forward, it rolled back and hit the bus. The collision caused the harness to slacken, knocking the horses, Chris and Matt off-balance. Chris fell, pulling Matt down with him in the middle of the road.”
Carriage operators could not be reached for comment.
bcleverley@timescolonist.com
