The association reacted after two horses fell on slick stone amid tourist crowds, stressing that the fault lies not with the animal that 'slipped' but with those who forced it to pull on such a surface in the heat.
The Animal Friends association on Monday called for a legal ban on the use of horses for pulling tourist carriages. The request comes after a disturbing video surfaced on social media showing two horses falling while pulling a carriage on a smooth stone surface in Sinj, ahead of the conclusion of this year's Sinjska Alka.
The footage shows the animals helplessly trying to get up while onlookers pull them, among other things, by the tail. The scene sparked a wave of outrage, and the association says the blame cannot be placed on the horse.
Snježana Klopotan Kačavenda, project coordinator at Animal Friends, strongly condemned the incident. "The public is rightly horrified by the footage because the blame cannot be shifted onto the horse for 'slipping.' It is shameful that such treatment of horses is presented as a tourist attraction instead of asking how it is even possible that someone ordered the animals to be used on such a surface and in such heat," she said.
The association warns that the combination of a smooth stone surface, high temperatures, the physical strain of pulling a carriage, and the noise and crowds creates an extremely stressful environment for horses. In addition to the suffering of the animals, they also highlight the safety risk to people. A fall of an animal weighing several hundred kilograms or a sudden reaction from a frightened horse could result in serious injuries to passersby and carriage passengers.
The association believes that tradition and tourist promotion must not be an excuse for subjecting animals to unnecessary stress and physical exertion. They cite European cities that restrict or completely ban tourist horse-drawn carriage rides as a positive example. Among them is Málaga, Spain, which in October 2025 revoked the last 25 licenses for such rides.
"If animal welfare is placed behind spectacle, tourism, or customs, then it is time to change tradition," Animal Friends said.
The association's request now puts the question before lawmakers: will Croatia follow the example of cities that have recognized that animal welfare must take precedence over tourist offerings, no matter how deeply rooted they are in local customs?
