Phase out cruel horse and carriage from Victoria
The City of Montreal has adopted a bylaw phasing out the horse carriages by Dec. 31, 2019. The City of Victoria should be following their lead.
The recent incident showing two carriage horses collapsed in the street by Ogden Point was atrocious! As you are well aware, the BC SPCA has recommended that the horse carriage businesses be banned from the City of Victoria. It would take a lot of cruel evidence for the SPCA to recommend this ban.
For many years we had a horse farm in Duncan. Our horses were always treated in a kind manner and never suffered as these carriage horses do. The carriage horses are not protected from the elements, stand in the hot sun all day, in the rain, snow, you name it. I have never even seen a driver give them a drink of water during their shift. If they are supplying some water, it is definitely not enough to sustain them.
The average horse needs up to 10 gallons of water a day to survive. These are not average horses. They are huge draft horses who need a lot more water, particularly when pulling a heavy load. In order to keep hydrated, they need to drink even more. No wonder those poor horses collapsed! We would suspect they were badly dehydrated!
My grandfather did his doctor rounds with a horse and buggy. That was back in the 1800s! The time has long since passed that we need to get around on a wagon pulled by a horse!
We would ask you to stand up and do the right thing. It will be unforgiveable if you allow this cruelty to continue and will leave a black mark on the reputation of the City of Victoria.
Richard and Joan Gordon
Ladysmith