Peta calls for a ban on carriages after a serious accident near Sayda!

Peta calls for a ban on carriages after a serious accident near Sayda!

Two accidents involving horse-drawn carriages recently attracted a lot of attention - both in the Central Saxony district and in the Ludwigsburg district. The incidents in particular have sparked a discussion about the safety of carriage rides and prompted the animal rights organization Peta to call for a ban on carriage rides.

Last Sunday there was a serious accident in Markgröningen when the driver fell out of the horse-drawn carriage for reasons that are still unclear. The panicked horses then ran further and crashed into a car. While the driver escaped with minor injuries, a horse was seriously injured. Peter Höffken from Peta said that horses are flight animals and even small stimuli can cause serious accidents. He calls for a ban on carriage rides for the safety of people and animals, because in 2024 there were 38 carriage accidents in Germany with 65 injuries, four horses died and 17 others were injured. The main cause of these accidents is frightened animals, according to experts. The animal rights organization also emphasizes that the animal-friendly keeping of horses in carriage companies is often not sufficiently guaranteed. PETA generally advocates against the use of animals for entertainment purposes, which requires special attention. These tragic incidents reveal a widespread problem that must be addressed in the future.

Safety check in the Central Saxony district

The Central Saxony District Office has already announced measures in connection with the accident in Markgröningen. After the serious carriage accident on the S 212 near Sayda, which raised a similar debate, the entire situation there is being examined on an interdisciplinary basis. While Peta is calling for a blanket ban, the district office has made it clear that such a ban on horse-drawn carriages is not planned. This shows that the authorities want to develop a differentiated approach to ensure safety on the roads without banning carriage operations entirely.

An earlier example of this is Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which banned carriages in the city center area after a serious accident in 2010. Such measures could serve as a model for future decisions. In the current discussion it is clear that the safety issue is very important and a solution must be found that takes both the welfare of the animals and the safety of people into account.

It will be exciting to see how those responsible will respond to the demands and the worrying statistics. Let's protect people and animals without endangering the tradition of carriage rides - that is the challenging task that the authorities now face.