|
Is it Time To End Horse Drawn Carriages in New York City
|
|
|
I've had to spend some time in the city lately, and I can't say I've particularly enjoyed the experience. With its crowded sidewalks, bumper-to-bumper traffic, car exhaust and strange smells, potholes and streetcar tracks, flashing lights, waving signs and noise, noise, noise. The city can be a very stressful place to navigate. Imagine dealing with all of these things when you're a horse.
There was a time when the horse-drawn vehicle was one of the very few ways to get around in the city. Old photographs depict a time when the traffic jams were entirely of horse-drawn buggies, freight wagons, trolleys and carts. Now some horses vie with cars, streetcars, buses and transport trucks for the right of way. These horses pull carriages containing tourists. While many regard this as a romantic tradition, animal activists and horse lovers everywhere are looking closely at the carriage-horse industry, and many have decided that city streets are no place for a horse.
Related: Should Police Horses Be Banned
Related: Paraguay Bans Work Horses in City Streets After Outcry From Animal Rights Groups
One of the more noisy debates is going on in New York city. Here, horse-drawn carriages can be hired for tours through Central Park and other tourist attractions. The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio has decided that it's time to end the tradition. He and many other New York residents have decided that horses working long shifts, in crowded streets, trodding on unyielding pavement in all weather is unacceptable. It's a move the ASPC agrees with, stating that it is “unnatural, unnecessary, and an undeniable strain on the horses’ quality of life.”
It's not just the horses that are the issue. Public safety is risked when carriage horses are hit or spooked. There are many documented accidents where people (and horses) have been harmed or killed. Many people think that horses travelling on city streets presents an unnecessary risk.
Others disagree. Long time New York carriage owners point out that the stables, and the working conditions are subject to strict regulation. In 2010, the Carriage Operators of North America invited Harry Werner, former head of the American Association of Equine Practitioners to inspect the horse's living conditions. Werner found nothing objectionable. Horses are given regular rest times and veterinary check ups, as well as five weeks in pasture out of the city. Carriage operators point out that there have been relatively few accidents. Those who don't want to see the carriage industry shut down argue that these horses, now without jobs, will end up abandoned, or on trucks headed for the processing plants of Canada or Mexico. Humans will lose jobs too.
The proposed solution for New York City is to replace the horses with antique style electric cars. But, will tourists find them as alluring? And, if the horses disappear from NYC, will it be a precedent-setting move that will be followed in other cities? Horse-drawn carriages have been banned in a number of cities already, including London, Paris, Toronto, Palm Beach, and Beijing. Animal rights groups are seeking bans in several other cities such as Sacramento, Niagara Falls and Salt Lake City.
Should carriage rides through city streets be banned? Is this cruelty to horses?
|
|
|
|
|
|
59 days ago
• 5,849 views
|
|
|
|
|
Related Horse News
|
|
I've had to spend some time in the city lately, and I can't say I've particularly enjoyed the experience. With its crowded sidewalks, bumper-to-bumper traffic, car exhaust and strange smells, potholes and streetcar tracks, flashin ...
|
|
While I fundamentally agree that the time for the carriage trade in its present form is past, some of the arguments you see online against it don’t make sense.The public often doesn’t see horses in the same way ‘horse people’ do, ...
|
|
In Montreal, Canada, calls to end the carriage trade within the city have intensified. Two incidents during the first long weekend of the summer. In one, a horse fell, requiring the assistance of onlookers and a veterinarian to he ...
|
|
Calčche horses in the city of Montreal are again in the focus of animal rights activists. This time a horse slipped as it crossed a metal plate and ended up lying on its side in the street. Although the police found no abuse of th ...
|
|
Animal activists cry foul as video of a horse pulling a wagon load of tourists enjoying a day at a maple sugar bush fell. The Montreal SPCA is investigating and the contractor who ran the wagon ride at the sugar bush has suspende ...
|
|
The rumblings about the carriage trade in Victoria have been ongoing for some time now. An incident last May has brought the business under harder scrutiny. Earlier this spring, two horses pulling a carriage fell on the street. A ...
|
|
As of January 1, 2020, the carriage trade came to an end. As a result, the calache horses were given other jobs, or retired. One organization, A Horse Tales Rescue is providing homes for former carriage trade horses, helping them ...
|
|
After years of controversy the city of Montreal, Quebec, caleches, the quaint carriage rides through the historic city are banned as of January 1, 2020. The tourist districts will no longer hear the familiar clip clop of hooves as ...
|
|
Like so many other cities and tourist areas around the world, Savannah, Georgia is grappling with issues surrounding carriage horses. Even in the hottest days of summer, Savannah’s three carriage operators give tours through histo ...
|
|
It often seems that tourism and horses is an unfortunate mix, especially when the offerings go unregulated. Such is the case in Istanbul, where carriage rides have come under scrutiny. Combined with a deadly virual outbreak, Istan ...
|
|
More News by Winniefield Park
|
|
3Pd *Vermes* continues as Best Streak Game Leader, but ! Cosmic Dawg has moved into the #1 spot. At 14 years old, the 14-hand Arabian stallion had a best jump of 103.5", a jumpoff record of 2,074 - 84 and a Best Streak of 890 cons ...
|
|
3Pd *Whirlwind* has ended February and helped March come in like a lion with her capture of the #1 rank beating out former #1 horses * G A L A X Y * and 3Pd *Vermes*. She also held the Best Streak title. At age 16 this 16.3-hand F ...
|
|
The Budweiser eight-horse hitch is an impressive sight with its massive prancing Clydesdales decked in glistening harnesses. But things went awry for the team at the recent San Antonio Rodeo, creating high drama for ten breathless ...
|
|
Spain is the home of several well-known breeds of horses, but the Mallorquin is a rare breed many of us may not recognize. This video gives an overview of the breed and features these beautiful horses being ridden through the spec ...
|
|
Maybe the cold weather has kept you from riding. But it shouldn’t keep you from training your horse. Here are some easy tricks to teach your horse that will keep you and your horse entertained while we wait for milder days ahead. ...
|
|
The Ancient Ecological Park in Xinjiang China is home to a collection of rare species including Alkha Teke horses. The horses are used to put on performances that feature the rare breed in action ridden by daring and athletic ride ...
|
|
As we entered the last full week of February two horses occupied the Game Leader positions. The 15.3 hand Percheron stallion Disney is a Titan climbed to the #1 rank. He’s out of the Old Growth Farms stable, Top Breeder of Groning ...
|
|
Is there anything more awe-inspiring than the sight of real horsepower at work? The Southern National Draft and Mule Pull in Raliegh, N.C. featured teams of horses and mules from across the nation along with a farm show that provi ...
|
|
|
