Niagara group condemns horse-drawn carriages
A group of protesters loosely affiliated with a Facebook page called “Ban Horse Carriages Niagara” stood near the intersection of Pelham Street and Pelham Town Square last Friday evening, demonstrating against what spokesperson Elizabeth Sigrun asserted was the inhumane use of two horses at the event, on site to pull two carriages.
The Voice counted nine protesters. Asked if any lived in Pelham, Sigrun initially seemed to confuse supporters with protesters, then clarified that none of the protesters were Pelham residents. She acknowledged that the same group has targeted the carriage trade in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
One demonstrator used a bullhorn at high volume to criticize Town Council and Mayor Marvin Junkin for permitting the carriages to be present.
“We’ve tried for three weeks to get them to cancel this,” said Sigrun, adding that “several people” in Pelham supported their cause, but were afraid to do so publicly.
In a handbill, the group asserted that the use of horses for carriage rides is a “cruel and antiquated anachronism in the 21st century. Public opinion is rapidly shifting towards a broader realization that exploiting animals for fleeting and frivolous ‘entertainment’ is unnecessary and unethical.”
As examples of cruelty, the group cited “standing stationary on asphalt for hours at a time as the carriage driver waits for fares,” “labour in extreme heat and humidity, as well as in rainstorms and blizzards,” and the danger of “urban traffic noises.”
None of these conditions were found at Pelham Town Square on Friday evening, where the two carriages looped on a short circuit around Town Hall, with an occasional vehicle departing the adjacent municipal parking lot.
The group initially set up near children queuing to see Santa Claus, which prompted Fire Chief and Chief Bylaw Officer Bob Lymburner to direct the demonstrators to leave Town property and relocate to the sidewalk along Pelham Street. Lymburner said that the group’s use of a bullhorn violated Pelham’s noise bylaw and that Niagara Police had been requested to attend the scene. Police had not arrived before the demonstrators departed at 6:45 PM.
In a follow-up email over the weekend, Sigrun put the Voice in touch with two Pelham supporters, Craig and Robin Zavitz.
“As longtime residents we were happy to see the Outdoor Christmas Market offered again this year,” Robin Zavitz said. “We were not happy to see the antiquated practice of horse drawn carriages, which have been banned in many cities, added this year. Enjoy your tree trimming, your carols and your festivities without exploiting the horses. How about next year you do a hayride drawn by a tractor?”
Two large Canadian cities, Montreal and Toronto, have banned horse-drawn carriages from their downtown cores.
Mayor Junkin refers to the demonstrators’ conduct as “disgusting” in his regular column this week, and the Voice addresses such use of horses in Pelham in this week’s editorial.
