Goodbye cruel carriages: Colombian city opts for electric alternatives (and offers exploited horses for adoption)

©Andrea Fontalvo via Unsplash

Cartagena de Indias in Colombia has embarked on a historic transition in urban tourism: with the commissioning of electric carriages, the city has bid farewell to animal traction, marking a new era for the horses that worked in the historic center for years. The change concerns not only mobility, but above all animal welfare, which has become one of the pillars of local policy.

An adoption program for the horses

Central to the initiative is a responsible adoption program that has already involved 39 horses, who are headed for a life far away from scorching asphalt and tourism. The animals, once an integral part of the carriage circuit, have been assessed by veterinary teams and included in a path of gradual rehoming designed to ensure their living conditions are more suited to their needs.

Each horse is entrusted to carefully selected adoptive families, chosen based on technical and ethical criteria. The goal is to ensure adequate space, constant care and an environment compatible with the physical and behavioral health of the animals. Some horses have already reached their new destination, while others are still in temporary shelters, where they undergo constant medical monitoring while awaiting final adoption.

Not just electric carriages: new services for the animals, too

The project is coordinated by the Cartagena district through the Unidad Municipal de Asistencia Técnica Agropecuaria (UMATA), with direct support from the city's government. According to authorities, the end of animal traction is a structural choice, the result of a complex process that also involved the owners of the old tourist carriages.

The change in direction is not limited to replacing the vehicles. The plan includes a series of innovative tools: mobile veterinarian units, animal ambulances and health and sterilization programs designed to strengthen a permanent protection network. The stated ambition is to make Cartagena a model in animal protection at the national and international levels.

The board also sends a message to residents: respect for animals is not only a task carried out by institutions, but a collective responsibility. The new life of the horses that pulled the carriages thus becomes the symbol of a city trying to reconcile tourism, innovation and empathy with living creatures, turning a controversial page from the past into a concrete process of change.

(©Alcaldía Mayor de Cartagena de Indias via GreenMe.it 2026/Managing Editor: Selma Keshkire - The Press Junction/Illustratie: ©Matthew Ansley via Unsplash)