Horse-drawn carriages, or caleches as they are known in French, have been a fixture on the streets of in Old Montreal for centuries. But animal rights activists say it’s time for them to go.

Horse-drawn carriages, or caleches as they are known in French, have been a fixture on the streets of in Old Montreal for centuries. But animal rights activists say it’s time for them to go.
Photo Credit: PC / PAUL CHIASSON

Montreal introduces moratorium on horse-drawn carriages

Their hoofs have echoed through Old Montreal’s cobblestone streets for decades and leisurely rides in the horse-drawn carriages have become a fixture for tourists visiting the city, but there will be no calèches on the streets of Montreal this summer.

Bowing to pressure from animal welfare activists, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre announced this morning that as of next Tuesday he will be imposing a moratorium on the small industry for a year in order to re-evaluate the dossier.

“I’m not all satisfied with the way things have been going with calèches,” Coderre said. “The best option is to start from scratch.”

Will the industry survive the moratorium?

However, Coderre vowed that the industry, which has been part of Montreal heritage, will be back to celebrate the city’s 375th anniversary in 2017 but with tighter rules and more professional standards.

Dominique Pelletier, who has been a calèche driver in Montreal for the last 13 years and has written her Master’s thesis on horse terminology, says the mayor’s plan doesn’t make sense and will end up driving the industry into the ground.

(click to listen to the full interview with Dominique Pelletier)

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“I’m definitely worried about what will happen to this industry,” Pelletier said. “Coderre says he wants to wipe the slate clean and start anew in one year after a moratorium but I don’t think he knows how much effort needs to be put into rebuilding that industry from the scratch.”

What will happen to horses?

Many of the owners will be forced to put down their horses because it’s prohibitively expensive to keep the horses without them working and there is no market for draft horses in Quebec, and animal refuges are already full, she said.

“I think this is just lazy politics to conform to some public opinion of righteousness that is misinformed,” Pelletier said.

Twenty-four calèches had received permits to operate in Montreal and city will reimburse the licensing fees, officials said.

Anne Streeter, a longtime opponent of calèches, told CBC News she was surprised and pleased when she heard about the moratorium on Wednesday.

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this will be permanent,” said Streeter, who founded a group called Action Anti-Calèche in 1989.

The announcement follows a string of incidents involving the industry where the horses were injured or involved in traffic accidents.

Tara Schulz snapped this photo of a calèche horse in apparent distress last July after it slipped on a metal plate on the road. (Tara Schulz)

Tara Schulz snapped this photo of a calèche horse in apparent distress last July after it slipped on a metal plate on the road. (Tara Schulz)

Pelletier said all the incidents that have sparked public outrage are related to a single owner who owns several horses.

“It’s not fair to blame the whole industry for the one bad apple,” Pelletier said. “And nothing seems to be done to discipline that very owner who’s just shaming the industry.”

An initiative by the mayor of New York City to have its horse-drawn carriages restricted to Central Park failed earlier this year.

With files from CBC News

Categories: Environment & Animal Life, Society
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