Phaeton prohibited in Abant National Park

BOLU – Demirören News Agency

The provincial directorate of national parks in the Black Sea province of Bolu has prohibited horses and phaetons in Lake Abant National Park, one of the favorite tourism destinations of the region.

The directorate reported the decision to the owners of about 200 horses and phaetons living in the villages around the park.

The phaetons and horses removed from Lake Abant were placed in Örencik Plateau.

“Many visitors were disturbed and complained about the fact that the excrement of animals in the area caused environmental pollution and bad odor due to the operation of horses and phaetons in the Abant Lake National Park,” the directorate said in a statement on July 21.

“The phaetons cause disruptions for the vehicle traffic in the national park, the horses left unattended in the area endanger the safety of especially the old and young visitors’ lives, animal care and treatment are neglected,” it added.

Carriage drivers, on the other hand, want a solution to the decision.

Hayrettin Türe said, “They told us that we cannot continue the carriage business that we have been doing in Abant for 30 years. We work here on the plateau, but no one comes to the plateau. No one knows about Örencik Plateau. I have seven horses. They cost a lot and are difficult to maintain. We got them. We want them to at least pay the price for the horses.”

Around 1.2 million local and foreign tourists visited Abant Nature Park in 2021.