Tampico, Tamps. The temporary shelter for horses received the internment of at least five horses that were removed from dragging carts loaded with garbage and recyclable materials in the streets of southern Tamaulipas, after an agreement between the city council and the civil organization Héroes de 4 Patas, and in exchange the local government delivered the same number of motorcycles and recyclers.
“We are very clear about the need to work as a team to continue fertilizing in this city… so that the horses have free grazing, a dignified and quiet life after having worked here with the recyclers,” said Mónica Zácil Villarreal Anaya, mayor of the city.
The City Council invested around 350 thousand pesos in motorized vehicles that were destined for five workers dedicated to the informal collection of recyclable materials, who in exchange gave up the horses they used for daily cart pulling, sentient animals that had been exploited for decades.
The horses will be moved to an open space managed by the protective association, where they will remain grazed and under permanent protection.
During the event, Villarreal Anaya pointed out that the initiative seeks to progressively remove draft animals from the urban environment and guarantee that they have adequate living conditions after years of work.
In the Metropolitan area of Tampico, it is estimated that there are more than 160 cart drivers who use animals to transport loads on public roads, which makes it difficult to regulate and supervise their health status.
Official reports indicate that the problem is not limited to the work itself, but to the conditions in which the animals are used, since cases of overload, exhaustion, injuries and malformations derived from long work hours and lack of veterinary care are frequently detected.
In the last year alone, the Tampico Animal Protection Directorate has secured between 10 and 15 abused horses belonging to cart drivers, some of which were put up for adoption after being removed from their owners.
