Save New York City's Carriage Horses From Slaughter

The holidays are New York City's carriage horse industry's most lucrative season. Personally, I don't see the charm in being pulled around a city park or through traffic by a sad, overworked horse. And nothing kills the romance quite like thinking about what happens to those horses when they can no longer work.

In the carriage horse industry, turnover is high — according to the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, New York City's 200 or so carriage horses work for an average of four years, compared to police horses who are typically on the beat for about 14 years. So, where do all those horses go?

Well, that's the question. The existing laws surrounding the carriage horse industry (such as they are) don't do much to address what happens to the horses once they're pulled from the street. Some may end up retired, finally able to get away from city life, see a real pasture and breath without a tailpipe in their faces. But sale and transfer records are only required if the transaction happens within New York City ... and most don't. So, when horses like Bobby end up on the auction block in Pennsylvania, the city has their blinders on.

The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, Equine Advocates and Friends of Animals were able to rescue Bobby before he could be sold to a kill buyer. But how many horses like Bobby have slipped through the cracks?

The ideal outcome for the horses would be to ban the carriage horse industry. Some advocates and council members have talked about replacing horse-drawn carriages with vintage replica electric cars. Keep the nostalgia, ditch the cruelty. It's a great idea, but as long as the carriage horse industry holds the reins in city politics, it's not going to happen.

Advocates haven't stopped fighting for a ban, but in the meantime, the least we can do is ensure that the horses' lives have a better outcome than ending up on the kill floor of a slaughterhouse. Some of the proposed bills have included language for the "humane disposition" of horses. But while the industry vehemently opposes the electric cars and other horse-friendly amendments, the animals are vulnerable to being sold for slaughter.

The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages is now asking the City Council to consider just that section on disposition, with an amendment to the code which would require horse owners to sell or donate their horses to private individuals who will keep them as companions or to an animal sanctuary.

Carriage horse drivers and owners repeatedly insist that their horses are well cared for and loved. Here's their chance to prove it. Anyone who cares about an animal wouldn't be willing to put her through the torturous trip across the border to a brutal slaughterhouse. So, there's no excuse for opposing a bill that ensures these horses get a humane retirement.

City Council and New York City Carriage Horse Owners: This is your chance to show your compassionate side.

The reality of racehorses ending their careers at the slaughterhouse soured a lot of people to that cruel industry. It's time to bring this dark side of the carriage horse industry out of the shadows. Ask New York City Council to save carriage horses from slaughter.

Photo credit: AnnieGreenSprings