Maltese Horse Diapers Sunday, December 11, 2005

Many thanks to the Sparrow for posting this gem from the Motherland:

Regulations on the control of horse dung forcing owners of horse-driven cabs to tie bags onto the animals are no longer valid after a judge ruled that this constituted cruelty to animals and was therefore in breach of the Animals Welfare Act which was a superseding law.
...Mr Justice Giannino Caruana Demajo heard vets explain that a horse's tail was to be kept free as he used it to swat flies and to gain strength when walking, especially uphill.
The judge ruled that tying the bag to the horse caused the animal to suffer and was therefore in conflict with the superseding law.
—The Times of Malta

Horse diapers, called "nappies", have been ruled cruel to the horses, and so the law has been repealed. Let the horseshit flow freely through the streets of Valetta!