Can you imagine dragging a few hundred kilos behind you in sweltering hear? This is exactly the kind of torturous effort that all the horses that are harnessed to carriages are forced to undergo in the summer.

The Krakow Association for the Defence of Animals (pol. Krakowskie Stowarzyszenie Obrony Zwierząt) has decided to come to their rescue. Its members managed to collect more than 5,000 signatures under a petition to the Krakow City Council. Why is their action so important?

Burning forests, draughts and lack of water are not the only problems caused by extreme heat in the summer. High temperatures also affect lives and health of animals. This issue has been highlighted by the Krakow Association for the Defence of Animals, which is now calling for the removal of horse-drawn carriages from the city streets.

The organisation has created a petition calling on the Krakow City Council to hold a referendum that would ask people the following question: "Are you in favour of banning horse-drawn carriages in Krakow?". The petition has already been signed by almost six thousand people.

The activists point out that riding in such extreme heat poses a risk of strokes and fainting of horses, which are forced to work in "tropical heat reaching 40 degrees and above". They also stress that the municipality is the de facto organiser of the horse-drawn carriage mean of transport in Krakow.

"We would like to thank you for supporting our appeal so strongly and we hope that the question of banning horse-drawn carriages will be included in the list of referendum questions, and that the referendum will actually take place, as we are increasingly concerned about the protracted inaction of the City Council's Committee for the preparation of the local referendum," reports on Facebook Mrs Agnieszka Wypych, president of the Krakow Association for the Defence of Animals.

Not only do the animals have to work in such high temperatures, but also according to current regulations, they can do so for 12 hours without any rest break. Activists point out that this results in various, even fatal, accidents involving horses.

It is worth adding that not only Krakow has a problem with horse-drawn carriages. Horses also continue to work in the Tatra Mountains. Last summer, as Wirtualna Polska news service reported, horse transport to the lake of Morskie Oko was not banned despite the fact that in previous years there were cases where horses died on the route.

Let's hope that the appeals of activists will change something and the torturous work of horses can finally come to an end. For the time being, the city of Krakow has only decided to close the permanent stop of the horse-drawn carriages on the main square and banned their rides there.

Source: Facebook, Zielona Interia, WP Wiadomości