HORSE-DRAWN carriage operators in York say they will boycott a three- month trial of horse "nappies" due to start today.
Ray Smith and Peter Fitch, said today they would not fit the dung catchers to their horses, as they are "dangerous" and a "health hazard".
On Saturday, York councillors ordered carriage operators to trial a new system for collecting dung.
The aim is to catch the dung before it fouls the street, which is reported to cost the council almost £6,000 a year, leading to disputes between carriage operators and street cleaners.
But Mr Smith has received a letter from the RSPCA concerned that such devices could pose a health hazard to horses.
He said: "It's not reasonable to expect horses to have to wear these things. It's about the welfare of the horses and I'm not prepared to put the welfare of my horse at risk."
A spokeswoman for City of York Council said: "This is a trial and we want to see how it works. If some of the operators decide that they don't want to use them there's nothing we can do about it at this stage."
Updated: 10:49 Tuesday, July 01, 2003
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