The Malta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) has proposed giving horse-drawn carriage drivers a golden handshake to relinquish their licence.

In a statement on Friday, the society said that an unnoticed effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was the absence of karozzini from the streets.

The lack of tourism halted this business and even with the re-opening of tourism in the past few weeks, the number of karozzini on the streets has dwindled. 

111 registered carriages in Malta 

It said there were currently 111 horse-driven carriages registered with Transport Malta - a high number for a small island. 

“We are concerned about what the future looks like for these horses if cabby drivers don’t have enough work to maintain them.”

MSPCA animal rights manager Althea Galea said the society is proposing that the government offer half the drivers a lump sum to relinquish their licence and start a new trade or business.

This would leave 55 (or fewer) licenced cabby drivers. 

Horse sanctuary proposal

Cabby drivers who relinquish their licence should also be given the opportunity to give their horse or horses to a state-funded sanctuary.

Animal welfare, it said, should invest in the setting up and running of such a sanctuary and also support existing horse sanctuaries to host and take care of these horses with immediate effect. These horses, the society insisted, should not be put down - as it fears will happen should licences be reduced. 

The MSPCA cited Israel, which became the first country to ban horse-drawn carriages, as an example to emulate. It has since been followed by a number of cities in the United States.