Animal rights activists clash with highlanders
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
09.11.2014 17:10
Animal rights activists blocked horse-drawn carts carrying tourists through the Tatra Mountains on Sunday in protest against deaths of exhausted horses in recent months.
Animal rights activists scuffle with highlanders. Photo: PAP/Grzegorz Momot
About 50 protesters blocked the way to the popular Morskie Oko lake near Zakopane, leading to a brief scuffle between some members of the two groups.
The demonstration came three days after local authorities tried to pull the plug on a test programme that replaced horse-drawn carts with electric vehicles.
County officials had claimed on Thursday that the electric vehicles were not suited to the route, in spite of the Tatra National Park supporting the new solution.
Threatened with arrest by the police, animal rights activists eventually suspended their protest.
However, highlanders have said they will seek compensation from protesters for lost earnings. (nh)