MONTREAL – A car collided with a calèche horse in Griffintown Wednesday, once again igniting a debate over the safety of the animals in the city.
READ MORE: Calèche horses: sturdy and made to work hard
The horse, walking west on Wellington Street with its buggy attached, appears to get bumped by the vehicle on its left side.
It stumbles forward several times, its front legs folding in and its back legs unable to keep steady.
READ MORE: Should Montreal ban horse-drawn carriages?
The white mare then struggles to get back up and quickly trots away.
The driver of the car was uninjured, but reportedly stunned, and his car was badly dented.
“This unfortunate incident simply adds to the poor track record of Montreal’s horse-drawn carriage industry,” said city councillor Sterling Downey.
“This industry needs a serious and immediate overhaul, or else its activities will have to be terminated.”
WATCH BELOW: Anti-calèche movement after horse falls
The horse will be out of service for at least two weeks, awaiting an examination by a municipal veterinarian to decide if it can continue working.
READ MORE: Mayor to require mandatory vet checks after horse falls in downtown Montreal
Montreal SPCA officials are continuing to call for a ban of the industry, while calèche drivers are demanding the city install posts so they can tie up the horses if they need to leave them unattended.
“Carriage horses in Montreal are often forced to work nine or more hours per day, seven days a week,” said Alanna Devine, Director of Animal Advocacy at the Montreal SPCA.
“They are subject to potential collisions with traffic, loud noises that can cause spooking, extreme temperatures and years of walking on unnaturally hard surfaces, which often causes lameness.”
Many cities, like London, Paris, Beijing and Toronto, have banned horse-drawn carriages.
*Footage courtesy MTL Blog.
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