The Situation Is an Ass

	A horse pulling a cart in the streets of Jaffa  —  Photo  Asaf Evron

By Neta Ahituv

Ha'ir, 8 February 2008

Translated from Hebrew

Residents who encounter exhausted and starved horses report the authorities' lack of helpfulness. The animal rights organizations support a ban on the use of animals for pulling carts. The hardworking carters, on the other hand, don't really understand why people are trying to destroy their source of income.

Last Friday, Ramat-Gan Resident Ruthy Weinstein was driving down Petah-Tiqwa road. "In the adjacent lane stood a horse strapped to a cart loaded with long iron rods," she reports. "The horse was all skin and bones, his body covered with many wounds. When the traffic light turned green, he couldn't move on and pull the cart, because of the heavy load. The two carters asked passersby to help them push the cart and horse across the crossroad. It was obvious that the horse's state was severe and that he was exhausted." Horror-stricken, Weinstein called the police. The police arrived at the scene, but discovered the carters had a license to keep the horse, and "let them get away."

Many residents encounter these beasts of burden in horrible shape, but when they turn to the police or the city's hotline, they discover that even if the carters don't have a license, it is impossible to confiscate the animals. "The only occasions for confiscating horses are injuries, abnormal health conditions, or strain from being overworked," explains Dr. Zvi Galin, the Head Veterinarian of Tel Aviv. "In the last couple of years, the City Council's veterinary department has confiscated 53 horses because of abuse or lack of proper care."

Most of the beasts of burden in the city are leased for 100-150 NIS per day. The renters are usually hard-working people who make a living selling used appliances and furniture or delivering metal waste – paid for by weight – to the designated disposal sites.

Most of the carters who arrived this week at the disposal site on Schnitzler Street refused to be interviewed and even aggressively reacted to questions. The ones who did answer, claimed that the horse and cart were the only possible way for them to make a living. "It's a beast of burden, I don't get the big deal they're making out of it," cries one of the carters. "Why isn't it me that they pity? I'm more miserable than the horse." He says he often rents this same horse he's with now. "He knows me already. What happens to the horse when I'm no longer there is none of my business," he replies when asked about the care of the horse at the end of the day, when it's returned to the owner. "I'm responsible for him for as long as he's with me."

Another carter, Nissim, is the owner of the horse pulling his cart. "Every time I pass the center of the city with the horse, everybody looks at me like I've done something wrong." Nissim doesn't have a license to keep a horse. "I have to pay a fine of 430 NIS every time an inspector catches me," he says.

Yossi Arbel, working at the flea market as a mover, was using a cart and a horse he owned for furniture deliveries up until five years ago, when he switched to a pickup truck. "I got tired of the fines I used to get, and people didn't want me to move their furniture with a horse anyway, so I sold all the horses and bought the pickup." He says that the upkeep for a horse is about 10 NIS a day, while the expenses on the pickup add up to 100 NIS a day.

The animal rights organizations are nowadays making trying to get an amendment to the municipal by-law, demanding that the city council legislate a broad ban on the use of horses and donkeys for carrying heavy weight—that is, for pulling carts. "The horses are not fit to navigate through the traffic on the busy roads," states lawyer Reuven Laduansky, the CEO for LAL. "We urge the city council to make a brave and fundamental decision and close the city gates to those who use horses and donkeys for their work." By-laws prohibiting the use of horses for transportation inside the city have already been legislated in 19 cities around the world, such as Toronto, Beijing, Paris, London, and Las Vegas.

As a result of massive pressure by the organization Hakol Chai and City Council member Orna Banai, an appointed forum on the issue held its meeting last month in the City Council. At the end of the meeting, the Mayor, Ron Huldai, promised to make sure to increase enforcement of the issue, check the possibility of amending the current legislation, and hold another meeting soon. "My heart breaks when I seeing these horses. I can't sleep," says Banai. "I'm certain that we'd win this struggle, just like we have with the ban on circuses in Tel Aviv that use animals."