After a horse died pulling a carriage in Montreal on Nov. 4, Jordan Reichert will remind Victoria city council of BC SPCAB次元官网网址檚 recommendations to stop the industry in the Vancouver Island city.
B次元官网网址淚 will be calling on council to fulfill what I see is their obligation to address this issue and to ban the horse carriages in Victoria, finally,B次元官网网址� Reichert, the founder of Victoria Horse Alliance, said. B次元官网网址淲hen we have a death of a horse in Montreal or New York or wherever it is, it exemplifies the problem of this industry all over the world. When we enable it to continue here in Victoria, we are promoting that industry.B次元官网网址�
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Earlier in 2018, Victoria council sent the recommendations of BC SPCA to city staff to report back. Reichert said the issue fell to the wayside during the municipal election, and he wants to bring new councillors up to speed.
Since BC SPCA submitted their recommendations and reasons to ban the industry in June, the second horse carriage incident of the year happened at Ogden Point in August. Then, when Environment Canada issued an air quality warning, Reichert said horses still worked outside.
B次元官网网址淭he welfare of the animals in the horse-drawn carriage industry is of utmost concern for all stakeholders. This is not only true for the general public, but also for the operators and Destination Victoria,B次元官网网址� Paul Nursey, Destination VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 CEO said ahead of the council meeting. B次元官网网址滳ity of Victoria staff are reviewing horse-drawn carriage operations and no changes to the current framework have been made. Greater Victoria has a diverse product offering and strong tourism brand, and the horse-carriage industry has historically been a major component of that. We will collaborate with the City and the horse-drawn-carriage industry to resolve any issues that arise.B次元官网网址�
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Reichert said Victoria should follow MontrealB次元官网网址檚 lead and enact their own ban. Horse-drawn carriages will become part of MontrealB次元官网网址檚 history by the end of 2019. The death of a horse while it was working in Montreal on Nov. 4 will not speed up the cityB次元官网网址檚 ban, but Mayor Valerie Plante said it demonstrates the need for eliminating the business.
He suggests a two-year deadline of the end of 2021 so employees have time to find new work and horses can be rehomed.
In 2016, Victoria Horse Alliance started a petition to ban the horse-drawn carriages pulling tourists through VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 streets. Before the Nov. 8 council meeting, the petition had more than 38,000 signatures.
B次元官网网址淚 think the public does support a ban,B次元官网网址� Reichert said. B次元官网网址淧eople recognize this is a practice from a by-gone era that doesnB次元官网网址檛 belong on the city streets anymore. They recognize this is not how we treat animals anymore B次元官网网址� we donB次元官网网址檛 exploit them for profit in the middle of traffic. It just doesnB次元官网网址檛 make sense in the way our city is being shaped.B次元官网网址�
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@KeiliBartlett
keili.bartlett@blackpress.ca
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