By the end of 2019, Montreal's famed horse-drawn calèches will be a thing of the past. (Paul Chaisson/Canadian Press)

Horse-drawn Montreal calèches will soon be nothing but history

They’ve been around since the 18th Century, but Montreal’s famed horse-drawn carriages known as calèches will become a thing of the past by the end of next year.

Meanwhile, pit bull dogs–maligned and feared by many, banned in 2016, then un-banned last December--continued to catch a break from the new city administration led by Mayor Valérie Plante.

The calèches, the horses that draw them, and the pit bulls were all affected by new animal control measures announced Thursday by City Hall after the city’s executive committee approved two draft bylaws Wednesday.

The drafts are scheduled to be adopted at the end of August.

Both bylaws arrived with a lot of baggage.

Former Mayor Denis Coderre’s administration passed the 2016 pit bull ban after a 55-year-old women was mauled to death in her backyard by a neighbour’s dog.

There will be no specific ban on pit bulls under new animal control measures announced in Montreal on Thursday. (Natalie Nanowski/CBC)

In last year’s election campaign Plante campaigned against the ban and repealed it when she came to power, sparking much debate–pro and con–by the general public.

Under the new bylaw, specific breeds of dogs will not be targeted, but a dog that bites or attacks a human would be deemed “at risk” and would need to undergo an evaluation by trained experts with appropriate measures then taken.

City officials say not targeting a specific breed will allow experts to be more pro-active in identifying other potentially dangerous dogs and not just pit bulls.

The backlash against the use of the horse-drawn calèches has been building for nearly a decade as concern grew about the animals’ welfare.

Four accidents involving carriage horses have been reported since 2014 and the city has handed out 14 tickets related to the health of horses and the state of carriages over the past two years.

Calèche owners have long said their horses are well cared for and maintain animal activists are putting them out of business.

About 50 drivers will lose their jobs as result of the changes.

With files from CBC, The Gazette, CTV

Categories: Economy, Environment & Animal Life, Health, Society
Tags: , ,

Do you want to report an error or a typo? Click here!

For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.