Ms Clare Owens, Political Affairs Officer with the NSPCA said that a city like Dublin was no place for a horse. 

The NSPCA calls for ban on horse-drawn carriages in Irish cities as a video showing a horse running through Dublin city goes viral.

An officer of the NSPCA has said that a recent incident on O'Connell Street was a “stark reminder that  Dublin's streets are no place for horse-drawn carriages in 2026.”

In a video shared widely across social media, a horse is seen colliding with a bus after it detached itself from a carriage. 

After its collision with the bus it got up and ran down O’Connell Street and collided with planters and stationary bicycles. The video ends with the horse being caught and hauled to an undisclosed location. 

Speaking on The Hard Shoulder, Ms Clare Owens, Political Affairs Officer with the NSPCA said that a city like Dublin was no place for a horse. 

“These concerns are becoming more and more regular”, she explained. 

“Last year, a silky horse also broke loose on O'Connell Street and that created a significant public risk.

“It ran the whole length of O'Connell Street with the cart behind it, and that was also widely shared on social media.”

The NSPCA is calling for a ban on horse-drawn carriage operations in Irish towns and cities. 

“There's a growing recognition internationally that modern urban environments are no longer suitable places for working horses”, she told The Hard Shoulder. 

“Dublin city in particular presents serious and unique welfare concerns.

“Some cities including London, Paris, Barcelona and Brussels have already moved away from horse-drawn carriage operations. Brussels has actually transitioned to electric carriages as a humane modern alternative. 

“That seems to work very well in that particular city.”

Young men driving racing horse-drawn carriages in the Liberties area of Dublin, Ireland.

Ms Owens explained the move was not “a tack on tourism, culture or tradition” but a recognition that standards evolve and animal welfare should as well. 

“We can’t just stay stuck in the past”, she told Newstalk. 

“Just because an activity was traditional,it does not automatically make it acceptable indefinitely. 

“Society evolves. As society evolves, our understanding of animal welfare evolves with it.”

 The NSPCA is cracking down on such practices in cities.

“We're looking at working equids and they're being asked to work in busy and chaotic traffic environments”, she explained. 

“They're surrounded by buses, taxis, Lewis, trams, cyclists, motorbikes, delivery vans and then dense pedestrian traffic.”

Main Image: Horse and carriage tour. Picture by: Eamonn Farrell.