SPCA calls for gradual 'phase-out' of Montreal's calèche industry

Montreal's SPCA says gradually shutting down the city's horse-drawn carriage industry is a preferable approach to a moratorium like the one the City of Montreal suddenly imposed last week.

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The city's one-year moratorium was temporarily suspended by a Quebec Superior Court judge Wednesday afternoon — barely 24 hours after it came into effect.

Justice Kirkland Casgrain granted a nine-day injunction against the moratorium, saying the city had exceeded its authority by imposing it.  

Mayor Denis Coderre said his administration would not fight to reverse the decision but vowed to introduce a new policy for horse-drawn carriages in the city instead.

Coderre said his administration's concerns for public safety and the treatment of horses remain.

"I won't let the situation remain as is — we need a horse policy in Montreal," he said.

SPCA wants eventual total ban

While disappointed with the moratorium's quick demise, Sophie Gaillard, a lawyer with the Montreal SPCA's animal advocacy department, told CBC Montreal's Daybreak she welcomes Coderre's stated concerns about the calèche industry.

"We know that this issue is still being taken seriously by the mayor, and he still intends to act on it," she said.

Gaillard said the SPCA is in favour of a more gradual approach that would ultimately end the use of horse-drawn carriages in the city.

"A phase-out is perhaps the best way to handle this issue. It will allow time for the horses to be placed into retirement homes and allow the calèche drivers time to reorient themselves in terms of their career," she said.

The anti-calèche defence coalition, a grassroots group that has long called for an outright ban on the horse-drawn carriages, wants Coderre to implement "tighter regulations" for drivers as long as carriages are still allowed in the streets.

"This needs to be shut down," Mirella Colalillo said. "We can't allow this to continue."

"These horses cannot continue to live this way — it's too sad, even just to think about it."

'They are not happy horses'

In a statement released Wednesday, the Montreal SPCA outlined its concerns for the treatment of the horses working in the calèche industry.

"Under constant threat of potential collisions with vehicles, subjected to extreme temperatures, pollution, and forced to walk for hours on abnormally hard surfaces, these animals often suffer from respiratory problems, lameness and other health problems," the statement reads. 

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"Not the mention the psychological suffering endured by the horses due to their inability to engage in natural behaviours such as socializing with other horses, moving about freely and grazing," it continued.

Colalillo echoed the SPCA's concerns, saying that the coalition plans to release a report next week into the alleged mistreatment of the horses.

"You don't need to go close," Colalillo said. "You can see from far away that they are not well treated, they are not well groomed and they are not happy horses."

Calèche industry representatives have rebuffed such concerns, saying their horses are inspected on a regular basis by veterinarians and the animals enjoy the work they do.