Lord Mayor Betty Disero sent the following letter to Ernie Hardeman, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs on Sept. 25.

Dear Minister Hardeman:

I am writing to you to express my support of Bill 156 (the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act) and the protection it provides farmers and their businesses. I would also like to draw your attention to some operations that this bill overlooks.

In Niagara-on-the-Lake, Sentineal Carriages, a longtime family-owned horse-drawn carriage business, has been targeted by animal activists for the past three years.

While I respect everybody’s right to protest peacefully, however, my fear is that quite often these protests end up in megaphone use and loud yelling and aggressive behaviour from both sides.

It would be dangerous if the horses get spooked and end up in the middle of traffic unintentionally. The carriage drivers are stressed, which the horses can feel.

Protesters are yelling at people to boycott the carriage company and Niagara-on-the Lake as a whole. As you know, much of the Niagara-on-the-Lake business community relies on tourism.

I ask that you consider including horses in the definition of farm animals and expand the animal protection zones to also protect animals when they are away from the farm and out in the public.

Please consider Sentineal Carriages and the Town of Niagara-on-the Lake when finalizing Bill 156.

Sincerely,

Betty Disero

Lord Mayor, NOTL