Government wants Karozzini owners to pay for €300,000 shelters

A few days ago Animal Rights Organizations that joined forces in a coalition to protect cab (karozzini) horses held another meeting with Transport Malta (TM). TM stated that these shelters will cost €300,000 and that these should come out of an increased license payment by the Karrozzini owners, stipulating a ten-year period of payments. Many of the owners believe that it is not viable as this would make their license fees far too high. They asked for a longer payment period but this was refused.

Last summer these organizations felt very hopeful when they received an email from Transport Minister Austin Gatt (Thursday, August 27, 2009) promising them: “I can assure you that the Malta Transport Authority is all for the creation of shelters for horses and is willing to pay for them itself provided that there is space where to erect them and that they are used by the cab owners.”

But on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 Vincent Micallef Pule of Transport Malta informed representatives of ‘Karozzini’ drivers: “As already pointed out during our meeting, any references in our proposals to the setting up of shelters, water and drainage facilities do not imply that these should be catered for by the Authority.”

Thousands of passenger tourists getting off cruise liners at Valletta can see 14 horses suffering in the intense heat of up to 40 degrees centigrade with no shelter or drinking water available. There is only one shelter near the Mediterranean Conference Centre and it can hold only six horses. Tourists arriving on the cruise liners immediately note that we are doing nothing to protect these horses despite being members of the European Union which boasts the highest animal welfare standards in the world.

Last November a delegation from the World Association for Transport Animal Welfare and Studies (WATAWS) visited Malta for five days and observed that “In Mdina/Rabat the organisation and support provided for the karozzini is clearly better than in Valletta. The Mayor in Mdina has negotiated favourable conditions for their work.” They recommended the setting up of “A fully representative committee of Karozzini owners (Valletta, Mdina and Sliema) … to assist with tackling some of the problems in Valletta.” They hoped that the discussion going on between various government and local authorities and the karozzini drivers would bear the desired results.

Animal Rights Organizations now feel very disheartened: “This is our last hot summer month for 2010 and if this project will not take off now it will all be forgotten and next summer our horses will once more be made to suffer long waiting periods without any shade beneath the scorching sun.”