THREE of the horse-drawn carriage owners are claiming they won't introduce "nappies" to their horses even after the licensing committee has recommended that they do so (June 28).
What a ludicrous claim that it would take up to 12 months for a horse to accept a bag attached to its rear to stop the dung hitting the floor.
York people and visitors are sick of the smell of piles of horse mess along pedestrianised streets.
ENCAMS, formerly the Tidy Britain Group, has stated that horse mess is classified as litter. In that case, let's use the laws of the land and fine the horse owners every time their horses mess the streets.
Why blame the street sweepers, as the horse owners have? They have other streets to sweep and why should they patrol the horse route streets all day long?
What about the shop owners who open their doors on warm days only to have the smell waft into their shops?
What about the wheelchair and pushchair users who accidentally wheel over the mess and find that they are covered in the stuff?
But most of all, what about the tax paying York citizen who is paying to have the mess removed out of their council tax? The £6,000 would be better spent elsewhere.
It is time the horse owners faced up to their responsibilities as ambassadors of our city and did their bit to keep it clean.
PR Willey.
Burnholme Drive,
Heworth, York.
...I RECENTLY watched a carriage driver in Davygate guide the horse and carriage around a pile of manure that had been dropped on a previous tour, and was about to tackle the driver about his responsibilities, but realised a confrontation would have spoiled the day for the passengers enjoying our beautiful city.
Dog owners are fined if their pets soil the pavement and they don't clear up after them - why not apply this rule to these operators? I'm sure they would soon find it possible to have a second person on board "to do the necessary" while he attended to the horses and his paying tourists.
P Wallis,
Hopgrove Lane North,
Malton Road, York.
Updated: 10:56 Tuesday, July 01, 2003
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