On the slopes, located at the edge of the road in the city of Jakarta, Indonesia, trucks are passing by skinny horses clearly visible tied to posts. These animals are still used for hauling wooden carts with tourists, but their dreadful condition calls for animal rights advocates to stop this practice.
"Dalimans," as these carts are locally known, which were popular during the time of Dutch colonization, are now mostly attracting a small number of tourists for walks. According to activists, high prices do not allow horse owners to take care of them properly, leading to their terrible condition.
It is estimated that about 200 horses are still working, with at least 20 tied to a filthy place, where 15 horses are kept, as reported by the agency "Frans Press." This style is surrounded by garbage and plastic bags, next to a polluted river.
"Conditions are very poor," says Karin Franken, an advisor for the "Jakartan Network for Animal Welfare," working to protect horses used for hauling tourist carts since 2014. "They don't behave well with the horses, and are very aggressive and harsh," she adds. In the eyes of tourists, "dalimans" can seem like beautiful carts with decorations, but some horse owners still resort to harsh traditional methods, including the practice of whipping horses with bamboo sticks and forcing them to suffocate their burdens.
