The usually thoughtful party for People, Animals and Nature (PAN) has submitted a bill to parliament that asks for horse-drawn carts to be banned from Portugal’s roads, thus risking the ire of the Roma community and human rights organisations.
Claiming that these carts are “not compatible with an evolved society,” the move is seen by Roma communities as discriminatory.
PAN claims that animal welfare is behind its move, as well as the safety of passengers, citing the frequency of accidents involving vehicles and horse-drawn carts.
PAN’s lone MP, André Silva, said the horses are often visibly under-nourished and many are abandoned when their useful working life is over.
Stating that tourists are often shocked to see animals pulling carts “in the 21st century,” Silva goes on to compare Portugal’s animal welfare laws to those of more enlightened nations, saying that Portugal’s image is at stake.
The PAN bill suggests the taxpayer should fund an incentive programme to support alternative transport for those who rely on horse-drawn carts to get about.
The bill submitted to parliament risks crossing the line of anti-discriminatory legislation with Roma families the main proponents of this form of transport. No mention is made of better animal-care education, State subsidised animal health care initiatives or mandatory visits by vets as alternatives to an outright ban on horse-drawn mobility.
Any ban will affect Roma families and other rural poor.
Portugal already has some laws covering the welfare and treatment of animals but, as has been seen in the Algarve region, local councils and policing authorities have been slow to use them.
The toughest legislation is for pet animals, with farm and transport animals excluded from the recetly enacted decree law.
