Horse carriages in Palma, Mallorca

Horse-carriage services have to cease when there is an alert for high temperatures. | Jaume Morey

Andrew EdePalma23/07/2022 07:44
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Ciudadanos (Cs) at Palma town hall have presented a proposal for replacing horse-driven carriages with electric carriages. This proposal will be taken to a full session of the council, the councillor for sustainable mobility, Francesc Dalmau of PSOE, stressing the concern for animal welfare. As much as the horse carriages are a "tradition", "it cannot be perpetuated". Political agreement, he says, is needed for legislative change.

Dalmau has not given any indication as to when a "progressive implementation" of a new system might start, but for Eva Pomar of the Cs, "it is necessary to update and implement the electric carriages", regardless of any tradition. She adds that there will also need to be support for the operators - "the people who live from this activity".

The Cs want to ensure that a switch to electric carriages doesn't result in "a reduction in employment" and are suggesting that credit is made available for a transition.

The spokesperson for Vox, Fulgencio Coll, says that the proposal “may be a solution", but he also feels that the town hall could do more to ensure the best treatment and care for the horses.

* A change to electric carriages has been mooted for several years. The fiercest political critics of the horse carriages, animal-rights party Progreso en Verde, have consistently denounced the town hall administration for its inaction in bringing about this change.