Cologne carnival societies to reduce horse use in parades

Two traditional carnival societies in Cologne, the Ehrengarde der Stadt Köln and Altstädter Köln 1922 e. V., have announced plans to reduce the use of live horses in the Rosenmontagszug parade.

Spokespersons for both organizations cited increasing organizational and safety requirements as the primary reasons for the change. They noted that unpredictable weather conditions, such as sudden storms, have made planning difficult, sometimes requiring horses to be removed from the parade prematurely. Additionally, transitioning to motorized vehicles is complicated by the need for structural modifications to parade floats and stricter regulations regarding permissible load weights.