Buggy instead of a carriage: Spain to ban horse-drawn carriages

Buggy instead of a carriage: Spain to ban horse-drawn carriages themayor.eu
Katerina Belousova

Animal rights activists and some municipalities are campaigning to end this anachronistic tourism practice

In Spain, a bill is being developed to replace horse-drawn carriages with electric buggies in cities.

Every year in the country "at work" several horses die from dehydration and exhaustion, reports TheMayor.EU.

It is noted that veterinarians have come to the conclusion that standing for a long time on city streets under the influence of noise, heat and pollution is harmful and traumatic for animals. Therefore, animal rights activists and some municipalities are campaigning to end this anachronistic tourism practice.

The purpose of the new bill is to initiate state support for pilot projects to replace crews with electric counterparts.

The city of Palma de Mallorca has already introduced new rules in favor of electric buggies and announced a ban on buggies from 2024. This happened after a video of a horse falling from the heat on a city street went viral in 2022. The new regulations also prohibit horses from working when a yellow, orange or red heat warning is in effect.

The article emphasized that the problem with the new draft law lies in two aspects. After all, the Ministry of Agriculture considers productive animals part of its competence and it is impossible to directly prohibit horses from going out into the streets. In addition, the use of electric carriages is still not regulated and certified in cities, as they are considered low-speed vehicles.

As EcoPolitic reported earlier, in Germany, in Thuringia and Saxony, sheep and cows help energy workers clear areas near overhead power lines from grass and shrubs.

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