Hudson Reporter, NJ 08/13/2006
Dear Editor:
It's not just the accidents and substandard stables that prompted us to form
the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages. It's because this industry is by its
very nature exploitative and inherently inhumane to horses. This is what the
carriage owners do not get. There is no room for debate.
Wearing blinders to prevent peripheral vision and shackled to their carriages
for nine hours straight with no opportunity to move freely is not humane. It is
also not humane to work nose to tailpipe breathing in car exhaust -or at high
humid temperatures that are technically within regulations; or to continue this
restriction in their stalls with no opportunity for turnout and most with no
opportunity to lie down comfortably. If the drivers say their stables are so
good, why aren't they open to the public?
People who take these rides are not good judges as to whether or not the
industry is inhumane. Their attitude to the horses is very telling when they
finish their ride and have their picture taken - careful not to include the
horse who just pulled their weight around the park.
Elizabeth Forel
Founding member of Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages Coalition for NYC
Animals, Inc.
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