Things got tense at a demonstration against Montreal’s calèche industry at Place d’Armes on Saturday afternoon.
Anti-calèche demonstrators had planned a “commemoration” gathering to pay tribute to four calèche horses that died recently, including one that collapsed on Nov. 5.
“We’re united for the poor calèche horses, who are enslaved their entire lives and literally worked to death. There are four horses that have died on our streets this year,” said animal rights activist Marla Kouri-Towe.
But as the demonstrators began giving speeches over a megaphone, a calèche driver started yelling over them and disrupting the protest.
“MAPAQ (Quebec’s Ministry of Agriculture) allows horses to walk, limping with scars,” protest organizer Susan Mackasey told the crowd of a few dozen.
“Lies! Lies! Lies! Lies!” calèche driver Pierre Lauzier screamed as she spoke.
The commemoration ceremony was taking place just steps away from a popular gathering spot for calèche horse drivers at Place d’Armes, and it didn’t take long for conflict to develop.
Another demonstrator asked Lauzier to respect their memorial.
“No!” he responded. “Not your memorial, because you’re hypocrites.”
READ MORE: ‘It was just gut-wrenching’: Calèche horse dies on Montreal Old Port street
Lauzier and the activists yelled at each other and insulted each other for several minutes.
The protest followed an incident in early November when a horse named Zeus fell ill, collapsed and died in the Old Port. Lauzier claimed he knew Zeus well.
“Doing a memorial for something or someone you don’t even know, that’s kind of crazy to begin with,” he told Global News. “I knew the horse. I was there the day he died. He was my friend.”
Police watched closely from a squad car as the two sides yelled at each other. No arrests were made.
WATCH: Montreal calèche accident renews calls to ban industry
Eventually, Lauzier stepped away, and the protesters were able to send their message to the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, which they accuse of not doing enough to protect the horses.
“Go in, check these animals,” said Mackasey. “They’re suffering. They have illnesses, cancers and they’re still working. There’s something wrong with this picture here.”
“We file complaints to the Ministry of Agriculture, and we don’t see any results,” said Mirella Colalillo of the Anti-Calèche Defense Coalition.
Calèche drivers said the protesters are wrong.
“Most of these people are ignorant, very ignorant of what our horses are doing,” said Lauzier.
“They should come spend a day with us and see how we treat the animals, then they can have an idea,” said Michel Prince, another longtime horse carriage driver.
READ MORE: Montreal moves to ban calèches, tightens animal welfare laws
The city has pledged to ban calèches by 2020, but protesters say that’s not soon enough.
As the two sides tried to get their points across among the noise, smiling tourists continued enjoying calèche rides just steps away.
Global News reached out to the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture to get a response to the protesters’ allegations, but they didn’t respond on Saturday.
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