Horses should not be providing rides in the midst of insane, noisy traffic.
While walking around New York City, every single time I go near Central Park, and Columbus Circle in particular, I cringe. I wince because all you see amidst the countless traffic and pedestrians are carriage horses everywhere, going in and out of noisy car lanes, for the sole purpose of riding people around to have a ?New York experience.? To me, it?s nothing but cruel. I don?t care how many breaks the horses are given and if law enforcement makes sure they are taken off the streets when the temps get too hot: horses shouldn?t be in the middle of midtown traffic day after day. It?s unnatural.
So I wasn?t surprised when I heard that yesterday a horse named Oreo got spooked and became so upset that he unhinged himself from the carriage and took off down the park, tossing two Australian passengers into the street.? He ran and finally collapsed on the street after police shot him with a?tranquilizer, kneeling down, looking utterly pathetic. The photos are heartbreaking. Eventually, the mounted police unit took the horse with them to get checked out by a vet.
The passengers weren?t badly hurt, although the driver did suffer injuries and was taken away via ambulance. Oreo suffered a few scratches and is home at his stable this morning.
On a recent trip to the Central Park Zoo, my middle daughter became very quiet and shared how the sight of the horses having to ride people around was disturbing, and it was. When we left the zoo, I noticed the ASPCA car was parked in the middle of Columbus Circle keeping an eye on the many drivers and horses passing by each minute. I had hoped that they inspected drivers, carriages, and horses, making sure that each was in good condition, but who really knows.
Sneaky drivers will often take a shortcut through the park on days when it?s deemed too hot for horses to be out and attempt to exit the park where there aren?t any police officers to enforce the ruling. It takes a savvy cop to follow them and sometimes they do, and penalize the driver.
Common sense will tell anyone that a horse shouldn?t be subject to those conditions day after day, especially when it?s only done for profit. There is talk again about banning horse-drawn carriages from New York City streets. Scott Levenson, spokesman for New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets, said on Good Day NY this morning that there are 68 medallion carriages and last year, 13 were involved in accidents. That?s quite a percentage. He wants to replace the horses with old-fashioned-looking electric cars.
What do you think? Should horse-drawn carriages be taken off the city streets once and for all? Is it animal abuse? And shouldn?t horses be off enjoying their lives galloping in the country rather than working in the incredibly loud and congested streets of New York City?
Check out Stop Horse Abuse?and to take action, visit NYClass.org.
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