In the summertime, the temperatures are rising again. This should actually mean heat-free for the fiacre horses (Carriage horses). Nevertheless, the mark for the heat-free period is rarely exceeded.
In Vienna (Austria), temperatures rise up to 35 degrees Celsius during the days. Nevertheless, the legal heat exemption for Vienna’s hackney carriage horses will probably not be reached, although this would be urgently necessary. This is because the temperature is measured in the shade. Last year, the air temperature directly at the horse-drawn carriage stand was 37.9 degrees. The measuring point, however, only showed 32 degrees, which meant that a legal heat-free period was still a long way off, because the 35-degree limit must first be exceeded.
If the 35-degree mark is finally broken, the coachmen are still allowed to finish the current ride. This is followed by a ride home that can last up to an hour. And this in the greatest heat and although it is often warmer than 35 degrees. Animal rights activists therefore demand that on such days no carriage rides should be allowed at all.
The horse-drawn carriage operators then claim that it is too hot in the stables. This is despite the fact that animal owners are obliged to ensure that the temperature is adapted to the needs of the animals. The comfortable temperature for horses is 5-20 degrees. For humans it is 25-30 degrees.
Animal rights activists protest
In the past, there have been repeated violations of the heat-free rule. Georg Prinz from the “Verein gegen Tierfabriken” (Association against Animal Factories) says:
“If the hackney carriage operators are as animal-friendly as they always claim, they don’t push the law to the limit, but don’t even go out on days like today. The fact that most farms drive their horses into the city centre on days like today clearly shows that voluntariness is not enough; there needs to be a legal entitlement to a heat-free period from 30 degrees. Does a horse have to collapse before animal protection councillor Jürgen Czernhorzsky does his job and finally takes action?
Source: Tourismuspresse
