30 June 2007 - Vol. # 37
Horses, heat stress & the law **A
day at the hack line **ASPCA
**What you can do
VOLUNTEERING
taking a break - will be back on July 14th - newsletter will
continue
NYC - THE
HOT, HUMID AND HAZY DAYS OF SUMMER
buses idling on CPS spewing diesel exhaust fumes; horses
suffer
New York City
can be brutal in the summer. This past week, we had two steamy hot
days in the 90s with very high humidity. Heat and humidity affects
the horse, and in severe cases, can result in death -- Read
"Heat Stress: Too Hot to Trot" by Dr. Jenifer Nadeau. There is
no shade on the hack line on Central Park South where the horses
wait for passengers; restricted and confined within the shafts of
their carriages wearing unnatural blinders and heavy tack. What a
life! The cars and tour buses on CPS spewing pollution into the air
affect both people and horses alike - but people have a choice - the
horses don't. Read the
study of respiratory damage on 20 NYC carriage horses. And let's
not forgot their hot oven-like stables and the fact that there is no
turn out ... the furthest stable is two miles from the hack line --
quite an exhausting ride in brutally hot weather. The stables have
little ventilation as you can see by the picture of West Side Livery
on W. 38th St.
The horses live on the top floors - stalls accessed by steep ramps.
This is an excerpt
from the
NYC ADMINISTRATIVE CODE TITLE 17 - HEALTH concerning the
temperature and carriage horses. From ? 17-330 Regulations - O-2.
"Carriage horses shall not be worked whenever the air temperature is
90 degrees Fahrenheit or above." [there is no consideration for
humidity in the law.] The law stipulates that the temperature will
be measured by a state-of-the-art thermometer, as measured by the
ASPCA's Humane Law Officer.
It goes on to
effectively say that if the temperature is already 90 or above
after the driver has customers in his carriage, he may
finish the ride - but it must be within 1/2 hour. He must then
"move the horse to an area of shelter, where available, rest the
horse and then walk it directly to its stable. All horses so
returned to their stable must be unbridled and unharnessed and must
remain at the stable for at least one hour, and thereafter, until
such time as the weather conditions shall once again reach
acceptable limits." This is all on the honor system. No one is
checking to see that the heavy tack is removed and the horses given
a breather. And what about that ride back to the stable during this
heat period? The law states the horse must be walked back - but who
is monitoring this? And are the boiling hot stables much better than
being worked outside?
The law then seems to present a loophole for drivers by
effectively stating that it is not a violation unless the HLE
officer issues a written warning of violation to the driver
advising that "the air temperature limits ... have been exceeded
and directing that the operator cease working a carriage horse in
accordance with the provisions of this subdivision."
It is not physically possible for one HLE officer to provide each
driver (possibly 68) with written notice. The law is written with
the driver in mind - not the horse. So a driver can legally stay
outside until he is "caught." The law does not require him to be
responsible for noting the temperature and removing his horse.
This is just one more reason why the carriage horse industry
needs to be shut down in NYC. It is inherently inhumane for a myriad
of reasons - not least of which is the issue of heat, humidity and
stabling. The ASPCA is not able to adequately do the job. They have
assigned only one Humane Law Enforcement officer to the carriage
horses but when we are tabling on Saturdays, we often do not see
him. This is a logistical issue brought on by the ASPCA leadership
because they have accepted and presumably want this role. We know
they cannot handle it properly and believe they should either admit
so and ask for help - or they should step up to the plate and ask
for a ban. They are doing neither.
We also appreciate that the Humane Law Enforcement Department,
which is the "police" branch of the ASPCA must be unbiased in order
to do their jobs. Yet the management branch, which includes the
president Ed Sayres, appears to have a conflict of interest if they
follow the teachings of their founder, Henry Bergh and truly
advocate for these horses. How can they take a strong position about
the horses when the HLE officer on the job has to be neutral? Maybe
HLE needs to be a separate organization. Maybe this needs to be a
separate and distinct division of the NYPD, paid for by tax dollars.
A DAY AT THE HACK LINE
by Jill Weitz/Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
It was 90 degrees and humid before noon on Wednesday, June 27. A
brutally hot day. Concerned about the carriage horses, I took the
subway up to Central Park South. According to New York City
regulations the horses are supposed to be taken off the streets when
it turns 90 (if the law took humidity into account, they would have
been off the streets at least an hour earlier.) When I got to Grand
Army Plaza at about 11:55 am, the carriages were still out. I told
several carriage drivers that the temperature hit 90. They needed to
take the horses off the streets. The drivers heckled me and pointed
toward the ASPCA van at Grand Army Plaza. Basically, what they were
saying is that it was not their concern.
I walked over to the ASPCA's Humane Law Enforcement (HLE) Officer,
introduced myself, and asked him why the carriage horses were still
out on the street. He said that there was a horse in distress and
this was his first priority. My first thought was why is there only
one humane officer assigned to 68 medallions and the whole of
Central Park? The officer was able to ask a handful of drivers near
the plaza to finish their rides within a half hour and go back to
the stables (surprisingly, the law allows carriages with passengers
to continue their rides, as long as they finish within a half hour.
Then they must take the horses back to the stable. This is a big
loophole, since a driver with an empty carriage can pick up
passengers before he is seen and officially notified by the HLE
officer. This gives him the opportunity to stay on the streets for
another half hour or more, depending on when the humane officer sees
and informs him.) This actually happened.
An empty carriage picked up two passengers. I told the driver
that the order was given by the ASPCA. He ignored me, but the
people in the carriage didn't. They got out. I thanked them.
There was another carriage on the plaza that was empty, # 1068.
It was parked in the sun. The driver denied that it was 90 and
managed to spew a few insults along the way. I felt the horse's
skin. It was hot and dry. Not a good sign. I told the driver
this and asked him why the horse had no access to water. The
driver brushed it off, "I am a professional."
(edit. note:
According to records on file with the Department of Consumer
Affairs, medallion #1068 belongs to
Lorenzo Riccobono - the very same Riccobono who has racked
up several convictions of animal cruelty in Pennsylvania and
owned the carriage that was involved in the
January 2, 2006 accident in which Spotty died.)
Meanwhile, the distressed horse - turns out her name is Susie -
was brought into the shade. The HLE Officer had to ask the
driver twice to remove her tack and take the carriage off her
back. Then the officer poured water on Susie to cool her down.
Two NYPD officers joined him (where were they earlier?) Her head
was still down, she looked weak, she had difficulty breathing. A
second HLE Officer joined him later. After an hour or so, Susie
became stronger. She was cooled down enough to be taken in an
ASPCA trailer back to the stable. However, before she was led
into the trailer, the two HLE Officers took pictures of each
other, smiling, with Susie. Was it for PR purposes-ASPCA saves
the day?
But what is the real story? Why doesn't the ASPCA understand
that the truly heroic act would be to admit that the regulations
are not working? The job isn't getting done. Why are they
celebrating when they are only too aware of what the carriage
horses must endure day in and day out, including oven-hot
stables, stalls that are too small for the horses to lie down,
overloaded carriages, exposed ribs, open sores, no water on hot
days, pulling carriages alongside trucks, buses and fire
engines, exploitation by owners and drivers who seem to have no
empathy for these living beings, and the list goes on...
The ultimate responsibility lies with the leadership of the
ASPCA. President Ed Sayres claims in a letter he sent to a
colleague of mine that they have not pursued a ban because there
is no political will to end this practice. But isn't the
ASPCA and other animal welfare groups in the business of
BUILDING political will? Why is Mr. Sayres allowing this
suffering to go on? According to the ASPCA website: "A basic
tenet of [ASPCA founder, Henry] Bergh's philosophy, protecting
animals was an issue that crossed party lines and class
boundaries. To his audience, which included some of Manhattan's
most powerful business and government leaders, he stressed,
'This is a matter purely of conscience; it has no perplexing
side issues. It is a moral question in all its aspects.'"
If Henry Bergh were around today, wouldn't he wonder why
these horses are still suffering 140 years later?
WHAT
YOU CAN DO
to help the carriage horses
To let Ed Sayres/ASPCA President know know how you feel about this
issue and the fact that they are not supporting a ban, you may
contact him at:
