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 FRIENDS & COLLEAGUES: Lobby Day ** Support state bill ** Charlie Tags ** Reporting an incident ** War Horse flyering ** letters-to-the-editor ** carriage drivers revenue ** winter regulations **
LOBBY DAY FOR THE BAN HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE BILL - MAY 1, 2012
What you can do now in preparation to push for the Avella/Rosenthal bill
Lobby Day has been scheduled for May 1st in Albany. We will meet with our elected representatives regarding the bill to ban horse-drawn carriages - S5013 and A7748. Please look at the instructions from last week's newsletter by Clicking Here. Please get involved.
It is very important for the success of this bill to begin now to contact your representatives by making phone calls. Please make arrangements to attend this event. More information will follow.
SUPPORT NY STATE BILL TO BAN HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES
Please sign this petition
This petition has gone viral!!! We currently have over 115,000 signatures in support of the state bill. So PLEASE sign it if you have not done so already and pass it on to friends and colleagues.Click Here to Sign Petition.
LETTERS-TO-THE-EDITOR
Record Review - Pound Ridge, NY
My letter was recently published in response to a column in The Record Review in Pound Ridge, NY. This is a link to the original column by Jill Murphy titled Carriage Horses Should not Be Banned. It is not available online but it is worth printing out so you can see the lies and distortions we are up against. Pound Ridge is in Westchester County just north of NYC.
This is a link to my response, which was published on Friday January 13, 2012 - title 'Horse Talk' Column Parroted City's Carriage Industry Playbook.
THE LETTER: 'Horse Talk' Column Parroted City's Carriage Industry Playbook. - Jill Murphy's arguments in "Carriage horses should not be banned, " are parroted from the carriage industry's playbook .
My response:
1. The ramps that access the upper floor stalls are very steep and extend from floor to floor, hardly comparable to one used to access a much lower horse trailer. The multi story stables have one means of egress and are fire traps.
2. The temperature law is only enforceable by ASPCA agents (when present) via a special thermometer and there is no consideration for humidity or wind chill. In the winter months, one of the two water troughs is turned off in Central Park. Many drivers do not carry water buckets.
3. The term "box stall" simply refers to a configuration - not size. The law requires stalls be 60 sq. ft minimum, hardly an appropriate size for a 1500-2000 pound horse.
4. ASPCA officers are not required to visit the facilities used for "vacation." The former ASPCA equine vet was quoted in a recent NY Post article as saying that many of the horses look worse when they return from furlough. For 47 weeks of the year, the horses have no turnout to pasture, working 9 hours a day, 7 days a week.
5. In June 2010, the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages and Equine Advocates rescued a NYC carriage horse from the New Holland auctions. He was bought by a kill buyer/broker and given a few days reprieve to find a home, otherwise he would go back to the kill pen. See Bobby II Freedom's story - www.equineadvocates.org
6. Between 60-70 carriage horses are turned over each year with no accountability for where they end up. To rectify this, proposed legislation requires that all horses sold or transferred must go to a good home or sanctuary.
7. Law enforcement leaves much to be desired. It is an industry out of control.
8. We began this "stand alone" campaign in 2006 and PETA has little to do with it. The ASPCA supports a ban of the NYC industry.
9. If anyone wants to learn how horses are supposed to live, visit a sanctuary like Equine Advocates or Catskill Animal Sanctuary to see spirited and happy horses.
A slow moving horse-drawn carriage pulled by a sensitive prey animal is an accident waiting to happen. These unpredictable, gentle giants become unwitting weapons when spooked , bolting into traffic, killing either themselves or a passerby.
Horses have been enslaved by people for hundreds of years, but it is morally wrong to continue to do so. One has only to see how "work" horses were treated in War Horse - or pictures of horse carcasses in 19th century streets to know that somewhere along the way, we broke our bond with these sensitive, gentle creatures. We exploited them because we could.
We support the Avella/Rosenthal bill in the NYS legislature - # A 7748 and S5013 to ban this inhumane and unsafe industry in NYC. We hope you will join with us.
TIMES LEDGER - QUEENS, NY
Letter-to-the-editor - January 21, 2012
Value human and animal lifeSince this issue has gone viral - as you can see, I am from Virginia - I wish to join with those protesting this abuse of horses and ask that horse-drawn carriages be discontinued as soon as possible.
It is not only the horses over which I am concerned, but the possibility that humans could be gravely hurt or killed if one of those horses is spooked by traffic or some other loud disturbance. I have signed the petition to bring an end to this nightmare scenario and I would not ride in one of those carriages for any amount of money because I would fear for my life and that of that poor horse drawing the carriage.
For Lord's sake, stop putting profit ahead of human and animal lives. That is the trouble today in this country: All industry is putting profit ahead of life and the environment, and it needs to stop and stop now.
Richard W. Firth,
Mechanicsville, Va.
CHARLIE HORSE "DOG" TAGS FOR SALE
remember Charlie and help our organization
Charlie Horse died on October 23rd. He just dropped dead on W. 54th Street. While the cause of death remains unknown, his demise resonated with so many people throughout the world. Please remember him - the latest victim of this inhumane business.
Thanks to all of you who have purchased a Charlie Tag. Please Note: When you send in a donation, you must indicate that you want a Charlie tag. If you pay by check, write it in the memo section of the check. If by PayPal, please enter "Charlie Tag" where it asks for a description. If you sent in a donation, expecting a Charlie tag but did not receive one, please e-mail me at coalition@banhdc.org and we will send one out.
This helps us to raise some needed funds and to remember Charlie. The tag reads:
- CHARLIE
- 10-23-11 R.I.P.
- NEW YORK CITY
- CARRIAGE HORSE
- WWW.BANHDC.ORG
The Horse Tag is shiny aluminum with a long chain. You can either wear it around your neck or put it on a key chain. We are asking $10, including postage. Please go to our donation page by clicking here. You can pay by check or use PayPal. Please indicate that it is for the Charlie Tag.
WINTER REGULATIONS FOR THE CARRIAGE HORSES
Please keep this in mind.
Carriage horses shall not be worked when the temperature is 18 degrees F or below. The only way to determine this is for an ASPCA officer to use a special thermometer that only they have. If the officer is not present to take the temperature, the drivers can continue to work. They have no responsibility to return to the stable. If the ASPCA officer sees a driver working when the temperature is below 18, he can give him a NOTICE OF VIOLATION and tell him to return to the stable but NOT an actual violation. Wind chill factor is not included.
You can read the law by clicking here. It is 17-330 Regulations. In addition, the law passed last year requires horses to be covered with a blanket during "cold weather." It also requires "waterproof" horse blankets be provided when it is wet and below 55 degrees.
If you see a violation call the ASPCA at 212-876-7700 - ext 4450. But PLEASE e-mail us at coalition@banhdc.org. You must give us the exact location and time; the carriage license plate on the back; horse description or 4-digit hoof number. Take a picture if possible. Very important.
WAR HORSE - FLYER WITH US
Saturday, January 28th
Please join us to flyer at the War Horse production at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center:
- Where: : Lincoln Center - Broadway & 64th St. - meet in the center of the plaza by the fountain.
- When: Saturday, January 28th at 4:30 pm.
Please check our website for possible cancellation due to the weather. www.banhdc.org
Please e-mail me for a PDF of the flyer so you can use it on your own. coalition@banhdc.org. It is specifically for the NYC carriage horse issue. Print out a quantity to hand out flyers at movie showings of War Horse in your neighborhood. The purpose of this is to reach out to people who have been moved by the plight of the horses in War Horse and want to help the NYC carriage horse. We ask them to sign the petition on line. (The picture here is Bobby II Freedom - rescued NYC carriage horse now living at Equine Advocates sanctuary. He is NYC's own War Horse and a looks very much like Joey. Credit K. Wagner)
HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE INDUSTRY: REVENUE & TAXES
Interesting Youtube discussion
In March of 2009, then Councilmember Tony Avella held a City Council hearing on Intro 658, his bill to ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC. This is a video on Youtube that was posted at that time: Horse-drawn carriage industry: revenue & taxes . The people giving testimony are from NYC & Company - the official NYC tourism agency. Please remember that all NYC agency heads serve at the pleasure of the Mayor and their comments should be supportive of his position, which is that he supports the industry. At the end of the video, Avella says he plans to ask the IRS to investigate the industry to see if they reported all of the income discussed.
Look at the recent comments on this video, which are below the screen. Apparently, the IRS has begun their investigation of the industry, which is cash only. Very interesting. Add comments if you like.
REPORT HORSE INCIDENTS - IF YOU SEE SOMETHING - SAY SOMETHING
We need you. Be our eyes and ears
If you see a carriage horse incident, please notify coalition@banhdc.org.
- Take pictures (crucial) - videos or stills
- Record exact location of accident - ex. - north/west corner of 60th St. and Broadway
- Get 4-digit license plate number from back of carriage
- Provide a narrative - description of what happened
- Note: Don't worry if you are not sure if what you saw was illegal. We will figure it out. The most important thing is to get the information to us.
You will help to make a difference for these horses. The media learned of six of the last seven accidents from us - the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages. And we learned about it from you!! It makes sense that the DoH and ASPCA know about more -- we have requested this information from both the ASPCA and the DoH. The ASPCA has ignored the request. The DoH only admitted to knowing about three accidents, of which we were aware. The public has a right to know just how unsafe and inhumane this industry is. (Picture is of ASPCA car parked off 6th Avenue in the park on 12/24, but this is a common occurrence. The driver never got out of his warm car. There was no way he was able to monitor the carriage drivers. Outrageous.)
SOCIAL MEDIA
Yes we are on Twitter and Facebook -- please join us
We are also in the middle of getting our web site revamped so do not have links to Facebook and Twitter -- but we do have very active accounts. Both Facebook and Twitter are great complements to our weekly e-newsletter and we encourage you to participate with us. Are you on Twitter? If not -- it is easy to sign up. Click here. The Coalition tweets, and we've had a great response. This is a way to stay in touch with us, in real time. We encourage all to "follow" us on Twitter @BanHDCarriages. We'll keep you up to date about accidents, events, demonstrations, actions we'd like you to take, and other ways to help. The messages are short - only 140-characters maximum.
Our official Facebook page is No Walk in the Park. It is an open page and we invite you to "Like" us. We generally post news there as it comes in. We have another page called Horses Without Carriages International, which is tied in with our international coalition.
HELP OUR ORGANIZATION BY SHOPPING ON LINE
Also check out Cafe Press to purchase CBHDC merchandise
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.
On I-Give - the name of our organization is "The Coalition for NYC Animals, Inc. ." We also have three stores on Cafe Press with great t-shirts, bags, hats, mugs, mouse pads, etc. . Purchasing this merchandise helps our organization. Click here.
"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.
