NEWS AND COMMENT: In the Balearic Island of Majorca, Spain, a working horse pulling a tourist carriage in 40°C heat collapsed causing great consternation among many people and reminding viewers of the Twitter video that it is time to stop this type of commercial enterprise which relies upon working horse abuse.
Europe recently experienced a massive heatwave with record temperatures being achieved in the UK due, it is believed, to global warming. In the UK temperatures reached 40.3°C which was well above the previous record of 38.7°C.
Passers-by videoed the collapse of the horse and showed the owner trying to get it back onto its feet by pulling on its reins. That seems pretty callous to me. It happened at about 5 PM in the evening as the carriage passed Plaza Juan.
Otro caballo cae desplomado en Palma. ¡Basta ya! @juliobastidag @SebastiaAdrover @MiqueladroverM @BernatCompany @GemmaMarchena @CronicaBalear_ @CopeMallorca @mallorcadiario @UHmallorca @SerAnimales @difuanimalista @damacjuristas @tv3cat @IB3noticies @noticias_cuatro @RTVEBalears pic.twitter.com/aO5eeFnm5F
— Progreso en Verde (@ProgresoenVerde) July 24, 2022
Note: This is an embedded tweet. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.
Some bystanders tended to the horse in providing water and asked the tourists to get out of the carriage. I’m surprised they stayed in the carriage actually.
PETA tweeted about this saying that in the UK when temperatures reached the records mentioned the government warned that only essential travel was permitted and yet when the same temperature was reached in Majorca “horses are forced to pull carriages full of people. This is a disgrace.”
The picture below is a clearer one of what I believe is another collapsed horse in either Majorca or mainland Spain but I don’t think it is the same horse. As it is a distressing image and a clear one, I’ve decided to link to it. If want to see it please click on the link below. It is a sad picture of an abused horse, of animal cruelty ultimately.
PETA also remarked that in cities such as London, Paris and Toronto licences are no longer issued for horse-drawn tourist carriages and yet in Majorca you can still jump into one. They believe that Majorca should ban these carriages. It’s going to cause hardship to the people who make a living out of it. however.
But in these high temperatures it is clearly animal abuse. Perhaps there should be limitations as to when the businesses can operate. I would hope that under normal conditions the horses are well treated but they may be struggling day in and day out pulling heavy carriages. I tend to favour a complete ban based on PETA’S observations.
PETA went on to comment:
“Many of the debilitated animals collapse – especially in the summer, when temperatures regularly reach 35°. Others get caught up in noisy traffic, which often leads to accidents – the honk of a car’s horn or even just an insect bite can be enough to trigger the horses’ instincts to bolt.”
It appears that Majorca is behind the curve in terms of banning these tourist attractions. New Delhi, Tel Aviv, London, Paris and Toronto no longer have them so I think that it is time for Majorca to follow suit.
Below are some more articles on horses.
