6-12/246- March 20, 2011
 
 

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HORSE SENSE
Periodic updates about issues and actions concerning New York City's Carriage Horses +
Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages www.banhdc.org

Horses Without Carriages International www.horseswithoutcarriages.org

PLEASE FORWARD TO LISTS, FRIENDS & COLLEAGUES - ** St. Pat's parade ** Sign the petition to help NYC carriage horses ** Volunteer ** Our newsletter archives ** Hands Around the Lake **

ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE
Videos: what it was like for the carriage horses
st pat parade 2011 The Department of Health and the Mayor's office foolishly allowed the horses to work during the St. Patrick's Day parade. We had previously asked them to suspend the horses because of past parade accidents that have resulted in deaths in other cities. The parade goes up Fifth Avenue right next to the hack line at Central Park South. Horses are prey animals and can easily spook. At 1,500 to 2,000 pounds, they are unwitting weapons. Last year at a parade in Ohio, the mayor's wife was killed after being trampled by spooked horses. In 2007, a five year old girl suffered the same fate as she fell from her horse because of horses spooking at a parade in Tucson.

Please take a look at these videos that were taken during the parade by HorsesinNYC.

  • You're on your own, Horse -- shows a horse being increasingly mobbed by a bunch of kids. Fortunately, they were gentle, but the driver was no where to be seen. This horse had no choice anyway. He was stuck between his carriage like a slave.
  • Unattended Horse - watch closely as the driver leaves his horse totally unattended near a cross walk as he solicits for business. It is illegal - but who is watching? Did anyone see an ASPCA officer? Doubtful.
  • No Luck for the Horses - Watch the first horse come very close to spooking and in the parlance of the vernacular hear a parade goer talk about the horse "bugging out."

Why did the Mayor's office and the DoH put the City at risk by allowing the horses to work that day? Even suspending them for a few hours would have helped. Where was the ASPCA on this -- absent as usual.

VIEW OUR OLD NEWSLETTERS
on our web site
st pat parade 2011 - 2 If you missed a newsletter, you can access them by going to our web site under newsletters. Click here.

VOLUNTEER WITH US
tabling to start soon
We will soon begin our tabling efforts near the hack line. The purpose will be to hand out literature to educate the public about the horse-drawn carriage industry and why a ban is the only solution. It will most likely be on a Saturday afternoon. If you are interested, please contact Paola, our volunteer coordinator, at [email protected].

We find that when we do this kind of work, we reach many more people than when we have a demonstration. Demonstrations are fine but certainly not the only tool in the campaign box. Pedestrians generally feel more comfortable coming up to the table and speaking with us. We know that we have easily persuaded many, many people from taking a ride and we look forward to doing this again soon.

Over the years that we have asked people to sign petitions, we have amassed almost 70,000 signatures combining online and on paper -- people from all 50 states and over 55 countries. This is something we have used as a tool to campaign for a ban.

STAND UP FOR NYC'S GEESE
Saturday March 26th - Prospect Park
Prospect Park, Brooklyn - the site of last year's horrific geese massacre. Please come out and support the geese. Participate in Hands Around the Lake.Starts at 12:30.

Join Animal groups, NY politicians, and wildlife advocates, joining hands around the perimeter of the lake to speak out against the slaughter of Canada geese in NYC parks, to demand protection for all urban wildlife in our city and an end to the city's kill contract with the USDA targeting geese. Press conference to follow.

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION - IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO
We have surpassed our goal of 2,500 signatures
taped blinders This petition is directly related to our blog about what happens to the carriage horses NOW. Please click here to sign it if you have not done so already. The City Council has been non responsive to the issue of preventing the carriage horses from going to the slaughter auctions. They apparently do not care if the carriage horses die on the job or later at the slaughter house. They are our publicly financed legislators.

For those of you who have not signed this petition, this is a synopsis: 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 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? 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.

Please click HERE to sign the petition.

IF YOU SHOP ONLINE -- YOU CAN HELP THE HORSES
igive 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
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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.

Thank you for caring about the horses, Elizabeth Forel - Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages - a standing committee of The Coalition for New York City Animals, Inc.

Please DONATE to our campaign to ban the inhumane and unsafe carriage horse industry.