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Debate rages over carriage regulations
By Lindsay Danzell
Contributing Writer
Since May 2004, six people have debated the welfare of a city full of equines and, ultimately, the welfare of the downtown carriage industry.
The members of the Charleston Office of Tourism’s Ad-Hoc Committee on Animal-Drawn Vehicles have asked: How hot and humid is too hot and humid for the animals to work? What are acceptable livery conditions? Are the animals receiving acceptable care, and should each company be required to keep detailed records?
The committee consists of two officials from the Tourism Commission, a local veterinarian, a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals representative, an animal control officer and a representative from the carriage industry.
The committee was designed to construct an enforceable ordinance for the treatment of carriage animals within the city of Charleston. Currently, the five carriage companies are members of the Carriage Operators of North America, an organization that regulates how the animals are treated. The companies also follow recommendations originally submitted in 1993 by a three-veterinarian study commissioned by the city. Neither the CONA regulations nor the 1993 recommendations have been enforced by law.
The CONA regulations prohibit equines from working when the outside temperature reaches 98 degrees and requires handlers to monitor the animal’s body temperature after the outside temperature reaches 90 degrees. An equine that demonstrates higher-than-normal body temperature will not be allowed to work until its temperature stabilizes. CONA also requires equines to be shod with rubber shoes to prevent slipping on hard city surfaces.
The 1993 study recommended a bi-annual physical by the company’s veterinarian and an annual physical by the Office of Tourism. All animal records should be kept accordingly and animals must maintain a healthy weight, according to the recommendations.
However, some say those regulations aren’t good enough.
The downtown equines need better care and an enforceable law will help, said Ellen Harley, a downtown resident who formed a citizen group for the safety of Charleston’s carriage animals.
Harley’s group has recommended guidelines including stopping tours at 85 degrees, reducing the number of passengers per carriage and hiring an independent veterinarian to evaluate and certify the health of individual animals.
The group is also concerned about the size of the stalls for the equines. At least one carriage company has maintained original 18th century “standing” stalls, which are fewer than six feet wide.
The group’s proposed regulations endanger the livelihood of the carriage industry, said Tom Doyle of Palmetto Carriage Co., who represents the carriage industry on the committee. Doyle said he believes the current 1993 guidelines regulating the companies have worked well to maintain humane levels of care.
Under the proposed guidelines, carriage companies would be unable to operate nearly five months out of the year and would be forced to shut down, he said.
Doyle said Harley, along with other downtown residents who dislike the carriages backing up traffic, has affiliated herself with animal rights activists to stop the carriage tours completely.
“Animal care is one more way they can lean on us,” Doyle said, adding he will fight to keep the carriage industry alive.
“Sounds like all they want to do is shut them down,” said Bobby Anderson, president of the South Carolina Horsemen’s Council, of Harley’s citizen group.
Even though he was unaware of the controversy until a telephone interview with the Charleston Regional Business Journal, Anderson said he supports the carriage company owners as long as the animals are well fed and healthy.
Companies should be able to provide veterinarian records and provide adequate training to carriage drivers, Anderson said. He added that he was against any regulations that limit business and said Harley’s recommendations “over-care to the point you stifle the industry.”
To answer the question of whether the animals are healthy and provided adequate care, Massachusetts veterinarian Dr. Joseph Merriam was brought in to evaluate the equines and the liveries by committee chairwoman Cathy Forrester. On Oct. 30, Merriam reported that the animals were in fine condition and heat injury was less of an issue than wrecking with a passing vehicle.
“Things were in very good shape,” Merriam said.
No outstanding problems could be found and there was no documented evidence of negligence, Merriam said. Before conducting his study, Merriam was against using 17-person carriages. However, in his study, Merriam found the draft horses and mule teams could “easily pull” the vehicles.
The committee has drafted a new ordinance that mixed and matched recommendations from CONA and the 1993 study. Since Merriam could not find any evidence to contradict the original recommendations, the new ordinance will continue to allow the equines to work in conditions up to 98 degrees.
“I don’t think I’ve seen one (carriage company)—even in New York City—that has a cutoff at 85 degrees,” said Forrester.
All evidence presented at the committee meetings has supported the claim that the animals are well cared for, she said.
Forrester said she would support stronger regulations if the equines were in poor condition. However, she said stronger regulations are not justified and she will not endanger the local businesses until further evidence proves maltreatment.
Dr. John Malark, a veterinarian with the Edisto Equine Clinic who is on the committee, agreed with Forrester.
“(Decisions) can’t be made in a vacuum,” Malark said. The intention of the committee is to protect the welfare of the animals and not to make any one bankrupt, he added.
Veterinarians such as Malark and Merriam have been accused of having a conflict of interest since some of their clients are carriage companies. However, Malark said he makes little money from the carriage companies and would report wrongdoing.
With a draft near finalization, Harley and her group remain unsatisfied with the veterinarians’ opinions.
Malark, Forrester and Doyle expressed dismay over how long the process is taking. The equines need something to protect them now, said Forrester. If revisions need to be made later, she said she is willing to strike up another committee.
Forrester will allow a final report to be analyzed in January and presented by two doctors. one selected by Harley’s group and the other selected by Doyle and the carriage companies.
After the draft is finalized, the ordinance must meet the approval of the Office of Tourism and Charleston City Council. The ordinance should take effect by March, Forrester said.
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