AD wants welfare of karozzini horses, and owners protected

Horses should be withdrawn from the roads between noon and 4pm, Carmel Cacopardo said, adding better regulation was needed to improve conditions for working animals.

However, the Alternattiva Demokratika chairperson insisted that the social impact assessment of such a measure would have to be analysed.

Cacopardo called for immediate action that will not only protect the horses but which will also buttress horse owners, some of whom do not have any alternative source of income.

AD’s call came on the back of two incidents involving karozzini horses. One horse collapsed in Pieta but recovered, while another was less lucky and died on the road.

There have been calls from animal rights activists to stop horses from working in the peak hours for heat, during the summer months. Some have clamoured for an outright ban on karozzini.