Horses Are Not a Tourist Attraction
The Animal Friends association has called for a legal ban on the use of horses to pull tourist carriages after footage of animals falling ahead of the Sinjska Alka sparked public outrage.
The Animal Friends association has called for a legal ban on the use of horses to pull tourist carriages after footage of animals falling ahead of the Sinjska Alka sparked public outrage.
On Monday, August 10, 2026, the Animal Friends association submitted a request for a legal ban on the use of horses to pull tourist carriages. The move was prompted by footage that spread across social media showing two horses falling while pulling a carriage on a smooth stone surface in Sinj, just before the finale of the Sinjska Alka.
The disturbing footage shows the horses struggling to get up while onlookers pull them, including by their tails. The association strongly condemns this behavior and stresses that it is unacceptable to justify the incident by saying the horse "slipped."
"The public is rightly horrified by the footage because responsibility cannot be shifted to the horse for 'slipping.' It is shameful that such treatment of horses is presented as a tourist attraction instead of questioning how anyone could order animals to be used on such a surface and in such heat," said Snježana Klopotan Kačavenda, project coordinator at Animal Friends.
The association warns that the combination of a smooth stone surface, high temperatures, the physical strain of pulling, noise, and crowds creates an unbearable burden for horses. In addition to animal suffering, they highlight a serious safety risk for people. A fall by an animal weighing several hundred kilograms or a sudden reaction from a frightened horse could easily injure bystanders and carriage passengers.
The association argues that tradition and tourist promotion must not justify exposing animals to unnecessary stress and strain. They cite European cities that have already restricted or completely banned this practice as positive examples. Notably, Málaga in Spain revoked its final 25 licenses for horse-drawn tourist carriages in October 2025.
"If animal welfare is placed behind spectacle, tourism, or customs, then it is time to change tradition," Animal Friends said.
The association's request comes at a time when Sinj is in the spotlight due to the Alka, one of Croatia's most important traditional events. This incident raises the question of the boundary between preserving customs and treating animals responsibly when they are involved in them.
