Horse-drawn carriages banned in Kuşadası resort town

AYDIN – Demirören News Agency

Carriages pulled by horses for touristic rides have been banned by the local municipality in the Aegean district of Kuşadası, the mayor of the resort town has announced.

“As a mayor who loves animals, I am glad to share with the public that horse-drawn carriage activities have ended in Kuşadası,” Ömer Günel, the mayor of the Aegean district in the province of Aydın, said on his Twitter account on May 13.

Following congratulatory messages from animal rights defenders all around the country, Günel cited animal rights and hygiene problems as the reasons for the ban in a statement on May 14.

“I had declared that I would defend the rights and lives of animals as I defend the rights of my fellow citizens. We talked with both animal rights defenders and owners of the horse-drawn carriages many times on this issue during the election period. We have concluded that making horses, our true friends and assistants for centuries, living and working on the asphalt roads are against their nature and is unhealthy in terms of hygiene,” he said.

Günel was elected mayor for a second consecutive term in the local polls on March 31.

In Kuşadası, a popular resort town attracting tourists from all over the world, five horse-drawn carriages had started taking the roads for short tours.