City plans “retirement program” for horses
CTV tells us the city has retirement plans for the calèche horses which will be put out to pasture at the end of this year, but buried in the story is the fact that only half of the horses have been found places. TVA has more photos of the mare Sissi who has already gone to live in the Eastern Townships.
mare 15:22 on 2019-11-04 Permalink
Race horses are put down when they’re not useful anymore (after an injury and/or when they’re done reproducing). Cows, goats and sheep are slaughtered after they stop giving enough milk after having offspring. I don’t really see why these horses need to be ‘saved’. Because someone decided they can’t work anymore?
Just my opinion, but I had to comment anyway. (Also not a sissy.)
Michael Black 16:05 on 2019-11-04 Permalink
It was the glue factory in the past.
I don’t know if the change is new rules, or simply that third parties have stepped in to take care of retired working animals.
Often they are precarious, surviving on donations and often not a lot. There was a story some years back abiut a Quebec farm that did this, needing money ir maybe they had to close.
In this case it makes a certain sense, people disliking the working conditions, so why terminate the horses as a result? It makes.sense to send them to the country to have restful retirement years.
Kate 16:31 on 2019-11-04 Permalink
mare, Michael, the calèche business was ended largely as a humane effort by the SPCA and others. It wouldn’t look so great if the horses were shot in the head (as damaged horses used to be, right in view of everyone in the street, back when they were transportation, not tourism) and carted away. There are only a few of them and people have feelings. So they will be put out to pasture.
After this, city people will rarely see any animal larger than a golden retriever.
Michael Black 17:04 on 2019-11-04 Permalink
Police horses. A year or two ago the dog saw two on the street, and as they walked away he looked at them. He seemed to be thinking “look at the size of those dogs”.
Chris 21:58 on 2019-11-04 Permalink
mare, I wholeheartedly agree. The explanation is simple though: people mentally compartmentalize food animals. It’s ok to slaughter them, but not other animals. In my view this is irrational, but I’m a minority there.