The BC SPCA has once again failed animals and those who fight for their protection in BC by reconsidering their position on prohibiting two-horse trolleys.
In May 2018, the BC SPCA sent a letter to Victoria city council recommending a phase out and ban of horse carriages and trolleys on city streets. This included a specific recommendation for them to prohibit the operation of two-horse trolleys. They then sent another letter about a month later based on pressure from the carriage industry that muddied their position, but they reiterated that the original recommendations still stood.
In Sept, 2019, Marcie Moriarty, their Chief Prevention and Enforcement Officer, (pictured) reiterated this position to council saying:
“That incident (May 2018) highlighted the inherent risk that is involved when you do have horses and vehicles together in a high traffic area.”
“If animals are going to used in recreation, etc. that minimizing risk needs to be a major consideration…”
“Having horses and vehicles moving at a speed in a congested area is a risk level, we would say puts the risk level too high for horses in a congested traffic area.”
“If the decision is to continue, the status quo is not something that puts animal welfare at the number one concern.”
“Mixing horses in the same line of traffic with cars poses a risk.”
Now, after meeting with members of the horse carriage industry, they have sent another letter to council saying they are prepared to reconsider their position that carriages be restricted to one horse, as long as they have three staff that are properly trained.
At this point, the BC SPCA has undermined their own credibility on this issue from backtracking on their initial recommendations due to pressure from the industry. What is worse is that a majority of city councillors only seem to support the BC SPCA when their recommendations suits their bias for the status quo.
If you are upset about this, please write a respectful letter to the BC SPCA to hold them accountable for failing the horses in Victoria. advocacy@spca.bc.ca
We will continue to fight for a ban of the horse carriages until this form of animal exploitation is removed from the city. 
Thank you for your continued support.