PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION
save NYC carriage horses from the kill auctions
For those who want to sign immediately and help the horses - please click here for the petition on Change.org. Please add your name to those who care about these horses.
THE PROBLEM: There are over 200 horses in the NYC carriage trade. The number varies but not by much. Approximately one third falls off the Department of Health registry every year. What does this mean? When an owner decides he wants to get rid of a horse, the existing NYC administrative code is very weak in regulating how this is done. It requires that sales or transfer records be submitted to the Department of Health but only if the transaction was made WITHIN NEW YORK CITY. While this would provide some information for where the horse ended up, it is ABSURD since most of the transactions are made outside the city. The horse auctions are in Pennsylvania and upstate New York.
NO ACCOUNTABILITY: In the last five years, well over 300 NYC carriage horses have disappeared from the Department of Health rolls. I know this because I have analyzed and compared information I requested from this city agency through the Freedom of Information Law. Homes were undoubtedly found for some of the horses -- the favorites. But for the vast majority, it is presumed that they went on to auction where there are many kill buyers waiting to buy horse flesh for the ride to the slaughter facilities in Canada. After all, this is the easiest and most feasible thing for an owner to do -- and the most devastating for the horse. This must be controlled by statute. The carriage owners must be held accountable for each and every horse they "dispose of". It is not enough for them to say they find homes for all of their horses. Where is the proof?1 I defy them to show me the good homes for the over 300 horses I mention above. In June 2010, we found Bobby at the kill auction in Pennsylvania. He was from West Side Livery stables. The ID number was still on his left front hoof - a number that is easily sanded off.
WE NEED TO DO THIS NOW: We do not expect the electric car bill to move any time soon. It has been almost one year since the City Council hearing on Intro 86 and although discussed at the hearing, there is still not one model car for the people in power to consider. In the meantime, we need to shame the NYC council for supporting one of the sources for horse slaughter -- the NYC carriage industry. They can at least do the right thing now and get this bill in the works while they wait to decided what to do about an overall ban.
A NEW PROPOSAL - NOW: The language for this new bill is the language we had inserted into former Council Member Tony Avella's historic ban bill and the same language we asked to be inserted into Intro 86 to protect the horses. The original electric car bill unfortunately did not address this issue.
Advocates haven't stopped fighting for a ban, but in the meantime, the least we can do is ensure that the horses' lives have a better outcome than ending up on the kill floor of a slaughterhouse.
The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages is asking the City Council to consider just that section on disposition -- �17-329 Disposition of licensed horse -- , with an amendment to the code, which would require horse owners to sell or donate their horses to private individuals who will keep them as companions or to an animal sanctuary. Carriage horse drivers and owners repeatedly insist that their horses are well cared for and loved. Here's their chance to prove it. Anyone who cares about an animal wouldn't be willing to put her through the torturous trip across the border to a brutal slaughterhouse. So, there's no excuse for opposing a bill that ensures these horses get a humane retirement. It's time to bring this dark side of the carriage horse industry out of the shadows. Ask the New York City Council to save carriage horses from slaughter. PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION.
PITY THE POOR HORSES
Where have they all gone?! - Sign petition at Change.org
Change.org - Save New York City's Carriage Horses From Slaughter - Stephanie Feldstein - 12/17/10 -- The holidays are New York City's carriage horse industry's most lucrative season. Personally, I don't see the charm in being pulled around a city park or through traffic by a sad, overworked horse. And nothing kills the romance quite like thinking about what happens to those horses when they can no longer work.
In the carriage horse industry, turnover is high - according to the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, New York City's 200 or so carriage horses work for an average of four years, compared to police horses who are typically on the beat for about 14 years. So, where do all those horses go?
Well, that's the question. The existing laws surrounding the carriage horse industry (such as they are) don't do much to address what happens to the horses once they're pulled from the street. Some may end up retired, finally able to get away from city life, see a real pasture and breath without a tailpipe in their faces. But sale and transfer records are only required if the transaction happens within New York City ... and most don't. So, when horses like Bobby end up on the auction block in Pennsylvania, the city has their blinders on.
The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, Equine Advocates and Friends of Animals were able to rescue Bobby before he could be sold to a kill buyer. But how many horses like Bobby have slipped through the cracks?
The ideal outcome for the horses would be to ban the carriage horse industry. Some advocates and council members have talked about replacing horse-drawn carriages with vintage replica electric cars. Keep the nostalgia, ditch the cruelty. It's a great idea, but as long as the carriage horse industry holds the reins in city politics, it's not going to happen.
Advocates haven't stopped fighting for a ban, but in the meantime, the least we can do is ensure that the horses' lives have a better outcome than ending up on the kill floor of a slaughterhouse. Some of the proposed bills have included language for the "humane disposition" of horses. But while the industry vehemently opposes the electric cars and other horse-friendly amendments, the animals are vulnerable to being sold for slaughter.
The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages is now asking the City Council to consider just that section on disposition, with an amendment to the code which would require horse owners to sell or donate their horses to private individuals who will keep them as companions or to an animal sanctuary. Carriage horse drivers and owners repeatedly insist that their horses are well cared for and loved. Here's their chance to prove it. Anyone who cares about an animal wouldn't be willing to put her through the torturous trip across the border to a brutal slaughterhouse. So, there's no excuse for opposing a bill that ensures these horses get a humane retirement.
City Council and New York City Carriage Horse Owners: This is your chance to show your compassionate side.
The reality of racehorses ending their careers at the slaughterhouse soured a lot of people to that cruel industry. It's time to bring this dark side of the carriage horse industry out of the shadows. Ask New York City Council to save carriage horses from slaughter.
If you have not already done so, PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION: Please click here to sign the petition and ask your friends to do the same. The horses have only you on whom to depend. We must be their voices. The holiday season is over and business virtually dries up for the industry. Many of the "excess" horses will be disposed of. There is no accountability in this business and we want to change that.
IF YOU SHOP ONLINE -- YOU CAN HELP THE HORSES
Through a free registration with iGive, when you buy merchandise on line, your purchase will help us. There are over 700 stores that include such popular ones as Amazon.com, Staples, Best Buy and Barnes & Nobles. Even Cafe Press is available if you purchase some of our merchandise. Click here to get started.
JOIN US ON FACE BOOK & SIGN ONLINE PETITION
See our Facebook page called No Walk in the Park. And while you are there, please join another anti carriage horse page by a colleague called 212HorsePower
"Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens can change the
world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever
has." Margaret Mead.
