Two horse-drawn carriages crash in Vienna in one afternoon

Two horse-drawn carriage incidents in Vienna’s city centre on Wednesday afternoon injured two horses but no people, ORF reported. Animal welfare groups renewed calls to end the use of carriage horses in city traffic.

In the first incident, at about 4.20 p.m. near the corner of Operngasse and Elisabethstraße, a horse was startled for an unknown reason and reared up, according to the fire brigade. The carriage struck a traffic sign, which firefighters also had to remove.

About 5 p.m., another carriage collided with a fountain on Rotenturmstraße and the horses fell. Police spokeswoman Julia Schick said the horses had apparently run from Stephansplatz towards Rotenturmstraße before falling near Ertlgasse. Both horses were injured. Firefighters righted the overturned white carriage, which was damaged in the crash.

The 60-year-old driver was reported under the Animal Keeping Act, Schick said. The investigation is ongoing.

Georg Prinz of the Verein gegen Tierversuche, an animal protection group, said horses were sensitive flight animals and their use in traffic posed a danger to them and to people nearby. Johanna Stadler of the Pfotenhilfe animal welfare organisation also warned that such incidents could put passengers, pedestrians and other road users at risk. Both organisations called for an end to the use of carriage horses in Vienna traffic.