In the French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin, there is local lore about a bizarrely specific transport regulation concerning animal-drawn carts. According to this alleged rule, anyone using a cart pulled by a donkey, horse, or mule must obtain a special transport permit. What makes this bureaucratic requirement unusual is the purported wording: the permit application must specify the exact breed of the animal used as the draft force, as well as the type of harness, down to the material of the straps. The rule suggests checks by local authorities to verify these details before approval is granted. While there is no definitive public confirmation that this law is currently enforced, it remains a part of local stories that highlight the unique blend of colonial administrative legacies and the island's agricultural traditions. This quirky requirement, if true, reflects how transport laws can sometimes embrace oddly granular details, presumably to maintain order and safety on narrow colonial roads still shared with pedestrians and modern vehicles.
Source / verification note
Local oral histories and archival references suggest the existence of this permit rule, but no official government publication has been located to fully confirm it.