Horse Drawn Carriages Could Be Driven Out of New York

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2010-01-23 09:00:00 UTC
Topics:

It's been a long time since horse drawn carriages belonged in New York City, and this could be the year that they're banished for good.

A public hearing on February 3, 2010, will address proposed changes to the carriage horse industry. The proposal includes new safety and sanitation requirements for the stables where horses are kept and improved basic standards for care, along with minor adjustments to the horses' working schedule (which are not only insignificant to the animals, but nearly impossible enforce).

Even better, a bill to ban horse drawn carriages is expected to be re-introduced later this year.

Horses don't belong on the streets of New York City. Every year, they're involved in traffic accidents, which are dangerous for the humans, and can be deadly for the horses.

The horses are forced to work long hours, seven days a week, year-round. Inhaling exhaust fumes causes respiratory problems, and walking on pavement with inadequate farrier care results in lameness. The average carriage horse works for less than four years, as opposed to police horses that work for about 14 years. At the end of their short careers, carriage horses are typically put up on the auction block and often end up sold to foreign slaughterhouses.

In a city full of character and transit options these horses are suffering needlessly.

Photo credit: Chris Breeze

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.

RELATED PETITION

Ban Horse Drawn Carriages in New York City
SIGN PETITION
766 People
PREVIOUS STORY:
Protecting Animal Victims of Domestic Violence
NEXT STORY:
Petitions Delivered Around the World for Release of Indonesian Circus Dolphins

COMMENTS (21)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.