21 December 2006 - Vol. # 13 B
A few more things before we take a break
letters **
Virginia Beach &#$/^ **
holiday card update **
action
needed **
the boys
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
(PUBLISHED)
pedicabs and retirement
AM-NY - PEDICABS ARE SAFER - December 14, 2006 ---- Mayor
Bloomberg, to the delight of the horse-drawn carriage industry, is
proposing legislation to ban pedicabs (bicycle-led carriages) from
city parks. It's a matter of public safety, according to the mayor
and City Council sponsor Leroy Comrie. Really? Let me get this
straight -- cars, buses and horse-drawn carriages would be allowed
in Central Park but not pedicabs? Would you really feel more secure
riding in a 19th- century contraption that is dragged by an old,
underweight horse for nine hours a day than a sleeker, updated model
that is propelled by the legs and free will of a lithe 20- or
30-something? The City Council should pass Intro. 75, sponsored by
Councilman Alan Gerson, which is truly about public safety. It
regulates the pedicab industry to ensure the safety of the public,
without snuffing out the competition.
--Jill Weitz, Coalition to Ban Horse Drawn Carriages
NEWSDAY - ALL OLD HORSES DESERVE TO RETIRE - December 18,
2006 ---- It is good news that the City of New York will do the
right thing by providing for the retirement of its police horses,
soon to be transferred to new pastures ["Off to greener pasture,"
News, Dec. 8]. But, while the city does not have a legal
responsibility for its carriage horses because they are privately
owned, it certainly has a moral one, which it chooses to ignore.
Given every break by the city, including the use of city-owned
stables and allowing a cash-only business to exist, this industry
gets rid of horses when they are no longer useful - 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.
More than 100,000 horses are slaughtered in the United States each
year - and this number includes former carriage horses.
--Elizabeth Forel
CARRIAGE HORSES
RETURN TO VIRGINIA BEACH
council has second vote after pressure from industry
In early November, the city of Virginia Beach voted 5- 5 to disallow
carriage horses on the boardwalk. In city government, a tie is a
loss because a motion needs a majority to pass. In the weeks that
followed, one of the Council members lobbied the head of the
Virginia Beach SPCA and persuaded her to hold her objections after
making the contract more acceptable to them.
On December 11, another vote was held and this time it passed 9-2
with only one councilmember and the mayor voting against having the
horses on the board walk. Although many people spoke out against
this, including Jackie Vergerio of Peta - who also read letters from
Elizabeth Forel/Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages and Holly
Cheever, well known equine veterinarian - it did not seem to matter.
Please write to Mayor Meyera Oberndorf, the mayor of Virginia
Beach at
