Rome's botticelle to move to parks

(ANSA) - Rome, September 25 - Rome's famed 'botticelle' horse-drawn tourist carriages are to move from the streets of the Italian capital to its villas' parks under a measure passed by the environmental committee on Tuesday.
    The move is set to be put to final approval by the mobility committee "within the fist few days of October", sources said.
    "Among the key aims of the measure is to avoid all suffering to the horses, taking the botticelle activities to more suitable locations like parks and historic villas," said the head of the Rome environmental committee, Daniele Diaco of the ruling anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S).
    It will also be possible for drivers to switch jobs and apply for taxi licenses, he said.
    Since no new botticelle licenses will be issued, the carriages may disappear if all 32 drivers apply to become taxi drivers.
    Animal rights groups have long complained that the horses are subject to too much stress and strain on Rome's hot cobbled streets.