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Tourists flock to the cultural capital of Mérida, Mexico, but many leave haunted by seeing sick, exhausted, and injured horses struggling to survive another day. Forced to haul loads of passengers day in and day out in carriages called calesas, these horses routinely endure exhaustion, dehydration, injuries, and inadequate veterinary care.
Many develop debilitating leg and hoof injuries from pounding on hard surfaces all day long. Lameness is common but many operators, unwilling or unable to recognize signs of lameness (or to pass up a paying customer) fail to stop unhealthy horses from working.
Horses’ nostrils are usually only a few feet above street level, so they are forced to breathe in exhaust fumes all day long. Heat exhaustion is another serious risk, one that can be life-threatening. Horses have collapsed in the street, likely due to the heat.
The average temperature in Mérida is nearly 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat and humidity in this tropical climate are intense. As one visitor posted on TripAdvisor, “I've never seen the horses being given water despite the daily temps in excess of 38 C (100 F)”
The city’s Animal Protection Unit is spread too thin to be able to routinely check on the horses or monitor the conditions under which they are forced to toil.
Banning horse-drawn carriages in Mérida would protect animals, improve public safety, and open the door to kinder, more innovative forms of tourism that don’t cause suffering.
Urge the Mayor to ban horse-drawn carriages in Mérida.