Photo: Nadire Mater / bianet
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Horse carriage has been suspended in İstanbul's Princes' Islands for three months due to a disease outbreak, Governor Ali Yerlikaya has announced.
After some horses were diagnosed with glanders during routine checks, officials expanded the tests. Eighty-one horses that were diagnosed with the disease were killed as a result. Glanders is known to be a contagious disease that can infect both animals, especially horses, and humans.
CLICK - Eighty-One Horses Killed in İstanbul's Princes' Islands Due to Glanders Outbreak
The governor pointed to the unhygienic and unlicensed horse barns as the main reason for the outbreak, saying that they will be demolished and a criminal complaint will be filed against the owners of the unlicensed barns and infected horses. A "quarantine barn" will also be set up, he added.
He also said that the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality will take the measures to continue public transportation in the absence of horse carriage. Horse carriage is a primary means of public transportation in the Princes' Islands, where motor vehicles are banned.
Yerlikaya also cited the UNESCO Declaration of Animal Rights, saying that "We don't want any animal on the Islands to live in bad conditions or to be killed." (DB/VK)
