While we support Intro 86, the bill that would substitute electric touring cars for the horse carriages, phasing them out over three years, we believe that without a prototype for the Council to review, the bill has gone nowhere. In the meantime, horses continue to fall through the cracks on their way to the auctions and the industry has no accountability. We want accountability for the horses now and we must bring attention to this issue. Many tourists and New Yorkers see the horses as if they were a bill board. If they think about it at all, most assume the horses live in the meadows of Central Park and they are a never changing constant. But the truth is that there is a very high turnover and about 1/3 disappear off the Department of Health rolls every year with no accountability -- approximately 60-70 horses. Bobby's Bill seeks to change that. For more information and to sign our petition, please click here to take you to Change.org.

For those who do not know, the bill is named after Bobby II Freedom, a NYC carriage horse that we rescued from the slaughter auctions, along with Equine Advocates and Friends of Animals last June, 2010. Bobby is currently living at the Equine Advocates Sanctuary and is much loved. From Susan of EA: "June 25th has been designated as Bobby's Re-Birthday. -- to celebrate his rebirth as a free man!" We will be celebrating this glorious event at the AFS conference described below.

I will be on a panel about Horses speaking about the carriage horse issue - Horse exploitation: The Great Betrayal, which will include such topics as the carriage horse issue, horse slaughter, mustangs, rodeos, political activism and San Barnabe.

There are many interesting speakers, panels and movies being shown. I would love to see you there.

Twice a year - the first Saturday in June and the first Saturday in December, we stand in solidarity with each other for the horses. This year it will be on Saturday, June 4th. Please save the date -- more details to follow. The picture above is from a demonstration in Rome.

I could not have said it better myself, so i invite you to read the excellent blog on HorseWatchNYC (Keep this blog URL for reference.) Horse Watch also catches the near mishap at the recent royal wedding in which a horse spooked and also some previous weddings that caused havoc to the wedding couple. Yahoo also commented on the inhumanity of using horse-drawn carriages -- in Royal Wedding Vows the Highlight; Horse-Drawn Carriage the Low light

The day after our Horses Without Carriages event is the first ever Our Planet. Theirs Too event in Union Square. It will be held on June 5, 2011 from 12-4 pm on the north side of Union Square, NYC, which is actually 17th St. From the website: You are invited to participate in an historic event, to commemorate the billions of animals who suffer and die at the hands of humanity, and to embrace an alternative vision for life on planet Earth for all of its species. The event will begin with a collective requiem ceremony, and end with a festival of food, displays and other attractions, encouraging the public to join our vision by adopting an animal and planet-friendly lifestyle.

Cat & Dog Adoptions: This is a new web site - I Adopted My Pet - that donates 20% of their sales to animal rescue groups. Wear the Cat or Dog adoption t-shirt proudly.

As reported in the NY Times, one of the Shamrock owners, Ian McKeever, found space for most of his horses in the other stables, but sent about six to eight horses away. A FOIL request to the Department of Health showed that a few of them are no longer in the system.

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