How the Horses Feel

This is a cartoon by Dan Piraro that I saw on Facebook for the events page for the 29th of June. OIPA and No Alla Caccia hosted an information table regarding le botticelle and had this enlarged. All the words in the world can't convey what he has in this simple cartoon. Imagine if you were an underweight horses forced to carry an overloaded carriage around the chaotic streets of Rome. Just the other day my friend saw a horses overheating and forced to stand in the sun with the carriage attached to him. She first complained to the driver, who promptly dismissed her as a puttana, or whore. Apparently if women in Rome make a man know the truth she is automatically labeled a witch or a whore. That is off subject, though. She then proceeded to to get the police involved, and they told her that if the horses is overheating, "Go buy it a gelato."

So even though there are welfarist laws, albeit not exactly protecting the horses, they are not enforced. If you are a tourist in Rome and considering a carriage ride, please reconsider. These drivers mistreat their horses. They are underfed, sometimes working up to 12 hours a day in the heat of the summer. They are forced to carry loads of up to 900 lbs. and sometimes forced to do so when lame. They don't spend their free time in pasture, but locked in stables. This year the horses are worse than ever. I see them everyday. Horses with cancers, sores on their legs, horses with pus in the eyes, and what really gets me, the fact that the horses all seem to be thinner than ever. The type of horses used in Rome are not draft horses, they are not bred for pulling heavy loads. regardless, Rome is covered in uneven cobblestones, and chaotic traffic full of scooters that spook the horses. Please, JUST SAY NO TO A CARRIAGE RIDE IN ROME!!

If you haven't already, please sign this petition.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/ban-horse-drawn-carriages-in-rome