Bill to Ban Horse & Carriages Met with Unbridled Anger

Bill to Ban Horse & Carriages Met with Unbridled Anger
posted: 9:01 AM, December 7, 2007 by Michael Clancy


Photo by Zesmerelda via Flickr

By John DeSio

The clip-clop of equine feet through midtown Manhattan would be a thing of the past if City Council Member Tony Avella gets his way. But opponents of the council member say he has no horse sense.

Avella will hold a press conference on Saturday to announce a bill that would ban horse-drawn carriages, hansom cabs if you’re olde tyme-ish, from all City streets. The bill will be officially introduced in the City Council next Wednesday, and represents the first time any elected official has pushed for an all-out ban on perhaps the City’s most famous tourist trap.

For animal rights activists, Avella’s bill cannot be passed soon enough. Edita Birnkrant, spokesperson for the non-profit Friends of Animals, said there has been discussion of simply reforming the industry in the past. Such reforms, she added, would offer only cosmetic changes to a barbaric practice. “There’s no way to make it better,” said Birnkrant, calling horse-drawn carriages “horrible” and “cruel.” “It’s time to get it out of the City.”

Not so, says the horse and carriage industry.

“This is just a cheap publicity program he is running on the backs of these horses,” said Carolyn Daly, spokesperson for the Horse & Carriage Association of New York “He should be ashamed.” Avella has aligned himself with extremists, said Daly, knows nothing about horses and does not truly care for the animals, only his political career. “This is not about the horses,” said Daly. “This is about Tony Avella. He’s the worst kind of elected official.”

The genesis of Avella’s bill came two years ago, when he proposed limiting horse drawn carriages to Central Park and the surrounding streets. That proposal went nowhere, but Avella has decided to branch out to a full ban in part due to safety concerns for motorists. When he drives next to horses in Manhattan he often worries that something bad will happen. Will the horse move towards the car? Will it buck? Will he accidentally strike the horse? But the animal rights aspect weighs on Avella, too. The council member implied that the mistreatment of horses is inherent in the industry. “It’s just time to say, ‘enough is enough.’ We’re better as a society today,” said Avella.

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2007/12/bill_to_ban_hor.php

Just a couple of months ago one of these magnificent animals was terrified by some noise, got away, and ended up crashing into a tree and having to be euthanized.
Anyone who beliedves these drivers truly "care" for their horses is living on another plane of reality than the rest of us.
I have seen this first hand. These horses are NOT treated well. Having no choice, and being forced to trot around the streets of Manhattan pulling some tourists is not the way such incredible animals should end their careers.
These guys had their chance to limit the carriages to the Central Park area, and they did not want to do that. Now they should have to face the consequences.
I would be first on line to vote for a ban on carriage-horses.

and as such, they make even less sense here, but they still won't get rid of them.

will they be banned for those as well?

If a horse is in a parade, they are usually ridden, not pulling a carriage...and that is not an everyday occurrence, with traffic riding around them.

and since they'd be on city streets, i was just wondering if any allowance would be made for that in the bill...

either way- i'd be very surprised if the bill passes into law anyway.

for several reasons:

1. Horses are not designed to walk on asphalt. It is hot in the summer and icy and dangerous in the winter.

2. The drivers are cruel to the horses.

3. It is dangerous for both the horses and the rest of the traffic that they are sharing the road.

should be passed. The bill should specifiy how many hours a horse can be used. How much water it needs per hour and timeouts for food an hay. What vaccines it needs and a proof that they have those vaccines should be in the carriage at all times. And unannounced vet checks should be done to make sure the horses are in shape to pull the size of carriage it is harnessed to. Vet checks are given to horses at the Olympics and other International equine events. They should be done for these working horses too. Also restaurants can get unannounced checks from health inspectors, so the vet check would be along the same line of reasoning.

they do here in chicago, anyway.

- so to speak-

:shrug:

you didn't mention anything about enforcement...

Luckily, there's none of that in Manhattan. :sarcasm:

since people have been riding horses into battle for millennia.

And battles were infrequent, and warhorses were specially bred and trained for the task.

you don't think those are just ponies they pick up on the street, right?

It's dangerous for both the horse and nearby human beings.

wouldn't be used in the city. Police horses have to go through a lot a training to desensitize then to loud noises and sudden movements. The Darling Exmoor pony, Brandy, was used to downtown traffic. I kind of think he knew the difference between a green light and a red one. The magnificent cattle horse, the Morgan, Foxsun, is used to the open range and working cattle. I have owned many in between and loved 'em all. Except for that bastard that crippled me back in the 1985 spring round up.

This is what horse are for. Fucking 'ell. I'm a strict vegetarian because I'm an animal lover. Haven't eaten ANY meat since 1974. I've owned horses since 1970. They pull carts ok. You can't make a horse do a bloody thing he doesn't want to. They are beasts of burden and they love it. In England I remember horses pulling the carts for the milkman, the grocer etc. The lovely darlings knew who was on their route and would always stop at the right house. Horses would bring home their drunken driver as he slept in the cart. Get rid of all your fucking cars and bring back the horse full time in the cities!!!!! I have loved the horse all of my life from my first Exmoor pony the darling Brandy to my the horse I have now, the magnificent cattle horse, the Morgan, Foxsun. Without the horse throughout the century's we'd have all been fucked!! And their POOP is good for your garden.

:popcorn:

but can I share some of your popcorn?

PETA wackos won't be satisfied until we mandate that all domesticated animals eat soylent green.

But this is really much ado over nothing. This particular woo-woo won't make any difference at all. NY city council shot his half-baked nonsense down before, and they'll shoot his sorta-slightly-more-baked idea down quicker this time around. And good riddance.