Protest in the center of Palma to ask for the end of horse-drawn carriages

PalmaAround 40 people demonstrated this Saturday in the center of Palma to demand that horse-drawn carriages be replaced by electric ones, with the aim of ending animal abuse. Summoned by the animal rights platforms Anima Naturalis, Peta, Satya Animal, FFW, and Progrés en Verd, the participants gathered at the Plaça de la Seu in Palma to then move to the point on Carrer del Conqueridor where a few weeks ago there was a confrontation between a carriage driver and a tourist.

During the march, slogans such as 'Palma does not want horse-drawn carriages', 'Carriage driver, you pull the cart', or 'It's not tradition, it's exploitation' could be heard. The spokesperson for Satya, Kike Gimeno, pointed out that the "social unrest" regarding this matter is "enormous" and, in his view, the best way to express it is to "demonstrate every Saturday", and for this reason, he has announced that they will maintain the actions to pressure carriage drivers and the Palma City Council.

The five platforms explained that this protest comes after Cort signed a second agreement in March of this year with the carriage drivers' guild to replace animal-drawn carriages with electric vehicles, a pact which, according to the entities, "does not set any binding deadline nor does it provide for sanctions in case of non-compliance".

Animal rights activists assert that this summer the focus has once again been placed on the suffering of these animals, since the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJIB) struck down the modification of the municipal regulation that restricted the circulation of horse-drawn carriages in extreme heat, "which allows horses to pull carriages even with active yellow alerts."

The director of Anima Naturalis in Spain, Aïda Gascón, has warned that since 2022 the platforms have been "hearing the same promise" and has lamented that the TSJIB struck down "the only rule that protected the horses." "We cannot continue to trust in the good will of a guild that already broke its word once," she stated.

The organizations demand from Cort an ordinance with a binding date and a formal rescue plan for each horse retired from service. Likewise, they recall that only six months before the signing of the agreement in March 2024, two horses collapsed in the center of Palma in less than three days, in the middle of September, "which evidences the accumulated exhaustion after the summer."