11 December 2006 - Vol. # 12
What's in this issue
police horses update**
other cities **
holiday cards **
volunteer
POLICE HORSES - UPDATE
finally heading to retirement
According to a recent
Newsday article, about 30 retired New York City Police
Department horses will be relocated to other pastures under a deal
that ends a legal fight between the City and the owner of an Orange
County ranch. We appreciate that the City recognizes its
responsibility to these horses. However, while the City may not have
a legal responsibility for the retirement of the privately owned
carriage horses, it has a moral responsibility, which it ignores.
Given every break by the City, including the use of some City
owned stables and allowing a cash only business to exist, this
industry gets rid of horses when they are no longer useful ? either
too slow; too old or too sick. Some may be fortunate enough to
retire to a farm ? but most go to the auctions where they are
exposed to kill buyers.
Those in positions of power in City government turn their heads
calling it a tourist attraction. But this is an assumption - said
with no substantiating evidence. We, on the other hand, have
evidence to the contrary - from the many people (tourists and New
Yorkers) who have signed our petition asking that this industry be
banned from NYC. Many tourists do not like to see these horses
suffering on the streets. Many have told us that they have never
seen sadder horses. They come to NYC for the theater, museums,
restaurants and shopping - not for a carriage ride. It is past time
for NYC to move into the 21st Century and to stop allowing the
exploitation of these horses to continue. Tradition is no excuse for
abuse.
OTHER CITIES
Accidents in Portsmouth, England and Old Colorado City
The BBC reports that on November 30, in Portsmouth, England, a
horse pulling a cart was startled by a car, bolted and tried to jump
a roadside railing. The cart prevented the horse from clearing the
obstacle and he got wedged on the railing. Photo shows Firefighters
using cutting equipment to release the horse.
Meanwhile, on December 2nd,
KKTV reported that in Old Colorado City, a car, attempting to
make a turn during an ice storm, barreled into a horse-drawn
carriage and into the horse, Sammy, injuring his left hind leg. A
passerby saw the accident first hand. ?I had to turn around. It
was incredibly sad."
HOLIDAY CARDS AVAILABLE FOR SALE
why not purchase ours and help the horses at the same time?
Holiday
Cards, featuring Monty, the former carriage horse who was rescued
from slaughter and is now living the good life in Massachusetts, are
now available for purchase. The cards are a heavy quality paper with
blue and white snow flakes on the front and back and feature a
series of five images of Monty frolicking in the snow and having the
time of his life. The inside of the card, which is white, reads
"May you enjoy the simple pleasures of this Holiday Season."
The back of the card has a short story of Monty and the plight of
carriage horses. Proceeds from the sale of these cards will go to
the Coalition to Ban
Horse-Drawn Carriages and
Central New England Equine Rescue (CNEER) - home of Monty. There
will be a limited quantity available so please send us your order as
soon as possible. These are wonderful cards to send out or keep - no
matter what holiday (or not) you observe.
To see more information about these beautiful cards, visit our
web site. To read more about Monty, visit
Happy Endings on the web site of the
Coalition for NYC
Animals, Inc.
PRICING: (5) cards - including postage and handling -
$17.35; (10) cards - including postage and handling - $33.31; (20)
cards - including postage and handling - $65.20; Checks or Cash only
accepted. Checks must be made out to Coalition for NYC Animals,
Inc.; P.O. Box 20247, Park West Station, New York, NY 10025. If
you would like to pick up the cards in Manhattan at certain
locations, let us know at the e-mail below and we will see if it can
be accommodated.
VOLUNTEER
WITH US!
Saturday, December 23rd
The next time the Coalition to Ban Horse- Drawn Carriages will be
tabling is Saturday, December 23rd. We will not be tabling the
weekend of December 16th and 17th. If you can volunteer some time to
help get signatures on petitions to the Mayor and City Council to
ban the horse-drawn carriage industry, please contact Teresa at
