Where can you go for a pony ride in Paris?
The surest way to find out is not to consult one of the commercial advertising sites relaying original ideas for outings in the capital, but to go to the online petition launched by the Paris Animaux Zoopolis collective.
From Parc Monceau to the Bois de Vincennes via the Buttes Chaumont or Luxembourg, the association which militates for the animal cause identifies all the Parisian gardens whose wooded alleys shelter these practices considered contrary to the "
values of benevolence, empathy and respect for animal life
”.
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"
The pony rides constitute an impulsive act, considering the pony-object as a consumer good
" writes the collective, which calls on Anne Hidalgo to put an end to these rides for children. In fact, the "
docility
" of dwarf equines "
should not make us forget the daily constraint they undergo and the violence that the slightest resistance would entail
". The association still criticizes these walks for not allowing the birth of an "
emotional bond
»Between children and animals due to the shortness of the walk, and denounces the daily movements of the animals (which are conveyed morning and evening, since they do not sleep there), as well as the lack of accompaniment by professionals during the time of the ride. The harnessing of animals between two walks, the use of the bit and even the training that ponies "
undergo from a young age
" are also denounced.
However, as
Le Parisien
reminds us
, the City of Paris has already significantly changed the working conditions of animals.
Anne Hidalgo's deputy in charge of animal welfare, Christophe Najdovski, has in fact established a charter which now governs pony rides but also the exploitation of camelids and equines in the Jardin d'Acclimatation, the animations with animals on the public highway, the possible fairgrounds ... This while the City is preparing to vote in mid-December for the renewal of its agreements with the equestrian centers which provide the ponies for the days where children do not have school (Wednesdays and weekends as well as during holidays).
RTT and maternity leave
The charter recalls in the preamble the evolution of the Civil Code (since 2015, animals are considered as "living beings endowed with sensitivity") and now requires a mandatory day of rest every three days of activity, in addition to several times daily rest, as well as the establishment of a "
possibility of social contact
" when several animals of the same species are used during an activity. The equivalent of the RTT and the coffee break applied to our
animal
friends ... As well as maternity leave: "
only present animals [...] that are not pregnant and not followed when it comes to females
" . Finally, some more vague recommendations are added to these measures, such as the following: "
not to present information presenting animals through a utilitarian prism
”.
The equestrian centers will therefore manage with that.
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The fact remains that these conventions, which have already been approved by the town halls of the districts concerned, have not found favor in the eyes of animal activists: they indeed deem "
indecent
" to "
imply that there would be a Code. of work
”while“
the central element is consent, which is not the case with animals
”. “
These pony rides convey for us an image that is contrary to the animal condition. That is to say that it is 'acceptable' to use animals as a means of transport when we are fighting to build a fairer model of society with animals, where we would explain to children that animals are sentient beings and not toys
», Explains on BFMTV Amandine Sanvisens, co-founder of the association Paris Animaux Zoopolis.
In reality, this stance against horse riding is not consensual even within the animalist galaxy.
Even the deputy (LREM) Loïc Dombreval, one of the most fervent relays of the proposals in favor of animal welfare in the National Assembly, finds nothing to complain about.
Moreover, the petition against pony rides claims to date barely more than 3,000 signatures.
