National

Victoria City Council Hears Debate Over Horse-Drawn Carriage Tours

The Canadian Press, 25 Mar, 2016 12:47 PM

VICTORIA — Debate over horse-drawn carriage rides in downtown Victoria, B.C., is heating up.

The owner of Victoria Carriage Tours appeared at a city council meeting on Thursday to defend the industry after an animal rights group started an online petition looking to ban the rides.

Katarina Gallagher says she has was blindsided by the petition, which alleges there has been poor maintenance of equipment, reckless driving of the carriages and improper care of the horses.

Gallagher says the "unfounded" and "vague" accusations about inadequate care and reckless driving are baseless and constitute fear mongering.

More than 900 people have signed the petition, and several speakers aligned with animal rights group "Victoria Horse Alliance" addressed council Thursday, saying they support the ban.

There are currently two carriage companies in the city, Tally Ho Carriage Tours and Victoria Carriage Tours, that have a total of 52 horses and employ roughly 70 people.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

End Of Great Bear Rainforest Grizzly Hunt To Cost First Nations Millions

Premier Christy Clark announced a landmark deal earlier this week to limit logging and end the commercial grizzly hunt on the central coast, which is home to rare, white spirit bears and 1000-year-old cedar forests.

End Of Great Bear Rainforest Grizzly Hunt To Cost First Nations Millions

Winnipeg School Bus Driver Loses Job After Relieving Himself In Public

A woman called First Student Canada in early January after she saw the driver repeatedly urinating in public.

Winnipeg School Bus Driver Loses Job After Relieving Himself In Public

Manitoba Crash Victim Who Crawled Up Snowbank To Save Daughter Loses Feet To Frostbite

Kristen Hiebert and four-year-old Avery were going home last month when their car slid off a rural highway near a bridge and rolled down a steep slope to the frozen Souris River.