Don’t Get Taken for a Ride

When a friend from Russia visited me in Manila, we decided to walk around for a bit of sightseeing. What was supposed to be a fun way to see the city ended up being an exposure to its dark side.

On a regular street corner, we witnessed a clearly worn-out carriage horse struggling to get up while being viciously struck by a stick-wielding driver. We immediately voiced our concerns to the driver before taking matters further by reporting the incident to the local police. Even though horse-drawn carriages have been banned in many cities, like Beijing, London, Paris, and Toronto, scenes like these are all too common in places where horse-drawn carriages are still allowed.

Horses forced to cart tourists around do so in the most barbaric conditions. These animals are made to trot around on patchy roads, risking injury, partly because they must share the roadways with cars. The sweltering tropical heat—which can soar upward of 42 degrees Celsius—and inadequate water supplies mean that these horses quickly suffer from exhaustion and dehydration.

Want to speak up for these animals? Wherever you may holiday, encourage people not to patronize horse-drawn carriage operations! If you’d like to get involved, join PETA’s Activist Network so that we can keep you posted on volunteer opportunities in your area and other ways that you can help.

Posted by Edward Basse