Horse Dies In North Melbourne After Collapsing While Pulling Carriage

A horse has tragically died while pulling a carriage in North Melbourne.

Two white horses were working on Arden Street over the weekend and one appeared to struggle to move the vehicle.

Eventually it collapsed on the street and the owner draped it in a large blanket after it died.

The news of the horrible and sad death was shared by Animal Justice MP Andy Meddick on Facebook.

The politician said it's another example of why horse-drawn carriages need to be banned in the city.

"To this poor horse - I am just so sorry," he wrote. "The death of a carriage horse in Melbourne's CBD yesterday is truly heartbreaking. The worst part is, it was totally preventable.

"Carriages should have been completely banned from the city many years ago. Horses and cars on busy city streets don't mix. It's that simple. It isn't just an animal welfare issue, it's a road safety issue too."

The horse's death was first reported by Melbourne Against Horse-Drawn Carriages, who have been campaigning for the style of transport to end.

It wrote on Facebook: "We still don't know who you are, but we do know you died at the hands of the Melbourne's horse-drawn carriage trade.

"At this stage we are unsure whose company the dead horse was exploited by but the fact remains, they all have blood on their hands.We have contacted Victoria police and the City of Melbourne and await answers."

They are trying to drum up support for a petition that more than 38,000 signatures attached to it.

The campaign to ban horse-drawn carriages could soon escalate, with the Facebook group planning to hold a massive rally outside Town Hall at the next meeting.

The group said: "If no serious action is taken in the coming days to end the Melbourne horse-drawn carriage trade, we will take action against the City of Melbourne outside the next Town Hall meeting (they are still closed to the public) scheduled on the evening of Tuesday 30 March.

"We will also take our fight to the doors of Ben Carroll MP office at a time to be confirmed. He, his predecessors and Sally Capp have been well aware of the risks and cruelty endured by these horses for years and have failed to take effective action."

Melbourne brought in a policy back in 2017 that restricted giving horse-drawn carriages permits for certain parts of Melbourne.

However, carriages are still permitted to use the roads because they are classified as a vehicle.

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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