SPCA, CoCT join forces to protect working horses

CAPE TOWN - The SPCA and the City of Cape Town have joined forces to protect working horses.

Over the past six months, the SPCA has intervened in at least six distressing cases of horses and ponies being subjected to extreme cruelty.

In Kensington, a young pony named Hope, weighing just 360 kilograms, was being forced to pull a cart loaded with an engineless vehicle and four passengers.

The combined weight of the cart and vehicle reached 990 kilograms, nearly three times Hope's own body weight.

She was the first of three ponies to be rescued under the exact same circumstances.

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA's Belinda Abraham said these incidents highlighted systemic exploitation, that demanded urgent attention and collective action.

"Aside from the suffering caused by the heavy loads these ponies were pulling, the neglect they lived with daily was very apparent in their physical condition because they were all underweight and had very neglected hooves as well."

Abraham said that they engaged the City of Cape Town last week, to discuss meaningful solutions.

"Our key proposals include implementing a permitting system, to ensure that all working equines are registered to facilitate monitoring, the conducting of regular welfare checks to maintain humane standards of care, as well as providing owners with training on proper care, nutrition, and weight limits and then enforcing weight limits to prevent overloading and safeguard equine health."