Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages

CITY HALL 
March, 2008 - 

The Animal Agenda. For many, Valentine's Day was a time for romance and rose bouquets. But for a group of animal rights protesters, Valentine's Day was also the perfect time for a protest against the city's horse-drawn carriage industry, which they fault with needlessly endangering and killing a number of horses. You can't have this industry in New York and make it humane, said Edita Birnkrant, a campaign coordinator at Friends of Animals, an advocacy group which joined in the protest at the corner of 59th Street and Fifth Avenue. With both sides cramming the sidewalk, the scene rapidly turned ugly. One carriage driver looked on with a mixture of amusement and anger. "Nothing ever satisfies these idiots," he said. "These horses could be living in penthouses in the Plaza."

Council Member Tony Avella (D-Queens) who introduced a bill to ban carriages last last year, says more New Yorkers should be paying attention. "The way we exist with animals in today's society is a judgment against ourselves," Avella said. Avella has found some on the Council who agree with him, he said. But Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan), who both call the horses a lucrative tourist draw, have not budged. "There's people that are willing to listen,and then there's the mayor and the speaker," Avella said. With Bloomberg and Quinn both in favor of congestion pricing, Avella said he finds their insistence on keeping carriages on the street especially strange. "For the mayor to be so hot and heavy for congestion pricing but to still allow horse driven carriages in these same areas is absurd." he said.

To honor
Bobby II Freedom
previously known as Billy
ID# 2873 rescued by the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages and Equine Advocates on June 25, 2010 from the New Holland auctions.

In memory of
Lilly Rose O'Reilly
previously known
as Dada ID# 2711
R.I.P.August, 2007