Animal rights activist appeals for karozzin horses to be kept inside as heat spell expected this weekend

As Malta gears itself up for this year’s first heat spell, animal rights activist Moira Delia is appealing to owners of traditional horse-drawn carriages to put their animals' well-being first and keep their horses indoors.

Temperatures are expected to rise to 34°C on Saturday, while the mercury could hit 35°C on Sunday, MalteseIslandsWeather.com is predicting. The hot weather will continue till Monday, when temperatures should reach 34°C.

The Malta International Airport’s predictions are slightly more conservative, with the Luqa meteorological office predicting highs of 32°C and 34°C on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

By Tuesday, things should start cooling down slightly, however.

Taking to Facebook, Delia asked karozzin owners to think twice before taking their horses out to work in the weekend.

“It’s a heat wave for animals too! […] Keep your animals safe and cool indoors,” Delia said.

While karozzin rides remain relatively popular with tourists in localities such as Valletta and Mdina, animal rights activists have in the past frequently denounced the practice of keeping horses out in the sweltering heat of Malta’s summers.

There have been several reports, as recently as last summer, of horses collapsing and dying in the street from exhaustion.

Following one such incident in August 2018, animal rights parliamentary secretary Clint Camilleri had called for laws governing horse-drawn carriages to be revised.