Savannah’s horse-drawn carriage tours can resume in heat, court rules
SAVANNAH — The skirmish between the City of Savannah and its horse carriage tour operators is heating up again as the summer tourist season kicks into gear and temperatures climb.
Chatham County Superior Court Judge John E. Morse Jr. issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday suspending a city heat ordinance. Morse scheduled a hearing for June 5.
The ordinance, which passed last August and went into effect in January, closes down horse-drawn carriage tours when temperatures reach 85 degrees or the heat index reaches 100 degrees. Tour operators have complained the ordinance could put them out of business. Last year, the temperature reached 85 or above on 143 days in Savannah.
The tour operators sued the city May 18, seeking to block the enforcement of the ordinance, arguing a recently amended Georgia state law prohibits local temperature restrictions for carriage tours.
“The injunction is significant for us,” said Cara Marshall, owner of Carriage Tours of Savannah, one of two horse carriage companies in the city. “Our business is nearly 50 years old. We have operated an estimated 150,000 carriage rides and served more than 1.5 million guests. That’s just my company. There has not been one heat-related incident in all of that time.”
Savannah Alderman Nick Palumbo, who helped spearhead the ordinance in the steamy coastal city popular with tourists, said in an email that he “cannot comment on pending litigation at the moment.”
Robyn Lowe of Ban Savannah Horse Carriages said her animal rights group is pondering its next steps.
“My plan is to wait and see what happens between now and June 5,” Lowe said. “(Horse carriages) have been a long-term debate in the city. The ordinance that was passed left no one fully happy, so it was a good compromise, I guess. Animal welfare is above business interests. The tour operators didn’t seem open to creative solutions.”
The city’s previous ordinance prohibited horse-drawn carriage tours when temperatures reached 95 degrees. So far this year, tour operators have had to suspend operations on 27 days because the temperature was 85 or above, including parts of each day during the Memorial Day weekend.
Since the new ordinance was suspended, horse-drawn tours have been up and running every day as daily highs ranged between 85 and 95 degrees. Tour operators say they will continue to voluntarily suspend the use of horses when temperatures reach 92 degrees.
The revised state law was intended to address the horse carriage situation in Savannah and clarify agricultural practices, according to State Rep. David Jenkins, R-Grantville, the sponsor of Act 379, which took effect last month.
“Georgia law allows local governments a lot of local authority, but it does not allow them to regulate agricultural practices,” Jenkins said. “We had to clarify what an agricultural practice is, and livestock is agriculture, regardless of whether it is on a farm or on the road. These businesses are regulated by the state Department of Agriculture, not locally.”
The upcoming court hearing to address the injunction coincides with a visit of the Budweiser Clydesdales, whose owners have come under fire from animal rights groups.
The Clydesdales’ eight-horse hitch visits Daffin Park on June 4 before a Savannah Bananas game at Grayson Stadium and will parade down River Street on June 5. In 2023, animal welfare activists successfully pressured brewer Anheuser-Busch to end tail docking of its Clydesdales, though the debate over the horses’ treatment and use in marketing continues.
