Horses, IHP launches a petition to stop the carriages in Florence

“A civilized and mature society must overcome this form of exploitation”

FLORENCE, ITALY – IHP, Italian Horse Protection, the first Italian association for the protection of horses, today launched a petition on the Change.org platform to collect signatures in support of the proposed abolition of horse-drawn carriages for tourist use, advanced to the Municipality of Florence. The initiative comes following the accident which took place on June 14 when a carriage collided with two parked cars in Piazza Signoria, including that of the Italian Minister of the Interior.

“What has been reported as an accident due to the fury of a runaway horse, in truth, once again brings to the headlines the conditions under which these animals are used – says the president of IHP, Sonny Richichi -. Carriages are a form of exploitation that is unacceptable in 2021: the tradition of transporting tourists by carriage through the streets of the center of Florence compels horses into a forced activity, in a totally inadequate, unhealthy and dangerous context. The Piazza Signoria accident demonstrates how dangerous is exploiting animals for human activities without knowing and respecting their nature and needs. Horses do not go wild, but react to negative stimuli in the way that is most natural for them: escape”.

“Furthermore – adds Richichi – when they are not working, these animals are forced to live in stables where there is no room for respecting the primary ethological needs for a horse, such as moving freely in large spaces. With this petition we ask the Municipality of Florence to put the protection of animals at the center of the debate, as a civil and mature society, abandoning these practices and abolishing the folkloristic system of transporting tourists to the center on horse-drawn carriages. We ask the Municipality to protect the health and welfare of animals. We are counting on the fact that the administration can find adequate forms of protection for the workers involved, fortunately are few, guiding them on a protected path of reconversion: we certainly do not want any family to lose the job that supports them. As far as we are concerned, we are available to welcome the horses at our recovery center to guarantee them a life of freedom and well-being, respectful of their ethological characteristics “.