The Mayor of Hamilton said there are no plans to ban horse and carriages from the city despite calls to do so.

Yesterday he urged all interested parties to attend a meeting early next week about the fate of horse and carriages in the city.

He said: “As the public knows, we have been concerned about recent horse and carriage incidents taking place in the City. Before making any decision, we will shortly meet with the various stakeholders to hear their points of view.”

But stated that final ordinance from the City of Hamilton would not “amount to a decision on a total ban on horse and carriages from the City at this time”.

The news came after the SPCA called for an outright ban of the practice — out of concern for animal and public safety—- after two incidents of horses bolting in the busy city, one of which left 19 injured.

And the group have suggested horses would be better suited elsewhere on the Island, such as the Botanical Gardens.

The SPCA’s stance caused outrage among carriage operators yesterday, some saying it would cause them to go out of business.

Dee and Hobby Charles, veteran carriage operators and owners of Shilo Stables, said their business mainly operates from Front Street.

Mrs. Charles said: “I just spent $200,000 on my new barn five years ago, I don’t even have my own home and I have horses that are worth more than $25,000. I stand to lose my livelihood.”

She added that many of the SPCA’s concerns were not logical and said: “They keep mentioning the horses are operating in heat. What about the horses in Somerset and St. George’s? Is the temperature not the same there?

“Horses are in New York, Boston and lots of other places that have a lot more heat and traffic than Bermuda does.

“Look at the tourists that have been killed on mopeds — do you then stop mopeds from coming through town because someone was killed or hurt?

And alleged that the SPCA’s complaints were actually “nothing more than a personal vendetta” because she complained to Government Veterinarian Dr. Jonathan Nesbitt about the state of their Paget shelter in 2003, which she claimed were “filthy”.

But SPCA chairman Dr. Andrew Madeiros yesterday flatly denied having any vendetta and said his organisation has been lobbying the Corporation of Hamilton for many years over the carriage issue.

“The accusations don’t surprise me,” he said.

“It’s not true and unfortunately, because they (Mrs. Charles) are the only ones operating in Hamilton, they would be the ones impacted the most.”

“If they had a better track record, I might be more sympathetic towards them, but historically we’ve had a number of issues with the Charleses and their facilities.

“We’ve had dealings with them in the past so, it’s hardly surprising that they do not like us.

“We respond to the concerns of the public.

“Our mandate is to look after animals with their best interests at heart.

“Our concerns are not limited to Mrs Charles, but other people in the past, concerning the welfare and safety of horses — we treat everyone the same way.

“I would prefer for those individuals in the carriage industry to perhaps look at alternatives, so that their businesses can survive and thrive — somewhere out of Hamilton and away from the traffic.

“Anytime you have horses and the public together there are going to be issues and that’s the nature of the game.

“The problem is that Hamilton is becoming more congested and dangerous.

“We get calls all the time from tourists and locals alike, complaining about horses they’ve seen that may be overloaded or operating in 90 degrees with high humidity.

“Someone’s livelihood is not a concern if there’s a cruelty issue. If someone’s being cruel to animals, I don’t care what they do for a living.

“We are not against the carriage industry.”