7- 8/294 March 4, 2012
 
 

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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

BREAKING NEWS - HORSE CARRIAGE CRASH ON 11TH AVE.
On Saturday, March 3rd, a horse traveling back to his stable, spooked and bolted into traffic on 11th Avenue near 52nd St, pulling his over-turned empty carriage after him. His journey ended when he fell on the street a block or two later. An eyewitness sent us a video of the aftermath of the accident. The police arrived on the scene and it is hoped they made a report. They are clearly seen in the video. Click Here. According to the eyewitness, the horse was shaking and looked frightened from this ordeal. He was unhooked from the carriage by the driver and walked down 11th Avenue, presumably to his stable. The eyewitness, who was walking her dog, had just crossed 11th Avenue when she heard a very loud crash. When she turned to look, the horse was already tearing down the street, the carriage in tow. Upset at seeing this accident and the horse fall -- and experiencing a very close call, she said that if she had still been on the other side of the street, she is sure that she and her dog would have been injured. The horse appeared to be OK, but he must have been bruised. The industry gets rid of horses who spook.

Horses do not belong on the congested streets of NYC being barraged with a variety of stimuli. As prey animals who weigh between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds and who will bolt and spook at the slightest provocation, these sensitive, nervous animals become unwitting weapons and could kill or injure themselves or passersby. The Coalition has repeatedly asked Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn to take this safety issue seriously and ban horse-drawn carriages. We hope it will not take a person dying for the administration to finally address these important concerns.

THIS WEEK...
Monty This week, I want to share with you some of the "stuff" that is sent our way by the opposition. We want you to see what we are dealing with - how this issue is very difficult - how the only way to put an end to this inhumane trade is through resolve and consistency.

Please refer to our recent newsletter for information about Lobby Day, contacting your reps, our fund raiser, etc. Click Here. Also - we are waiting for a new shipment of our Charlie tags. If you want one, follow the directions from this past newsletter. Click Here. Scroll down until you see it.

This is Monty, a sweet and beautiful 26 year old former Boston carriage horse who was rescued from slaughter by Central New England Equine Rescue six years ago.

FIRST UP - KING'S LINEAGE (AND RESCUE) IS DISPUTED
King and Roger NYC carriage horses, rescued in 2010.
In 2010, we learned of a carriage horse named King whose license was expiring. He was owned by the same people who owned Bobby, a horse I identified from the slaughter auctions in 2010 and ended up rescuing with Equine Advocates. I reached out to the owner and we had a dialog going for King. He said we could have him - no charge. Catskill Animal Sanctuary was planning to take him. Then the owner stopped taking my calls. Silence. I heard through the grape vine that Pam Corey, former ASPCA equine vet, who turned out be too friendly with the industry, was arranging a rescue. She refused to answer my calls and e-mails to confirm this. But as it turned out, she became instrumental in the final rescue of King and Roger - no question there.

Recently W.A.R. put something on their FB page about King and Roger's rescue. This was disputed by a carriage industry supporter. She wrote on her Facebook page:

  • "Wonderful words. All lies. This horse, a thoroughbred, never ever worked as a NYC carriage horse. Just one of a thousand blatant lies this page, and these people, speak. Lies lies and more lies. Why can they just post photos and outright lie everyday and anytime they want? Doesn't FB care when they have the flag option to check the facts once in a while.
  • I want to go to NYC and slaughter a beloved kid goat right in front of the RARAS, and drink it's blood, and spit it in their ignorant faces, and scare them away from the carriage line once and for all. [A "RaRA" is what the drivers call us and anyone who cares about the welfare of animals - -a "Radical Animal Rights Activist." ]
Then to add insult to injury, the carriage trade now is now claiming to have actually rescued King. But the truth is that If it were not for our organization identifying King and the fact that his license was due to expire, and my efforts to rescue him, this horse would have been sent to the auctions - no question. This story will be put out soon. Nothing I hate more than liars - especially those who try to take credit for something they did not do - solely for the self serving accolades.

THEY LIE ABOUT OUR INTENTIONS
yet - will not put their name behind those lies
This from a horse blog that is not worth my time responding to -- but we get this all the time: Blog - Horse Forum. As it stands now in NYC, the carriages do operate primarily in and around Central Park. They travel too and from their stables by designated routes during their shift changes. The carriage horse owners have been asking for years for further restriction of motor traffic in tthe Central Park area or for a designated carriage lane. The animal rights extremists have been fighting against these changes because they WANT to keep things as dangerous as possible so they can acheive their goal of outlawing the NYC carriages alltoghther. The outlawing of he NYC carriages is jsut one little step in their overall goal to totally ban horse-drawn carriages worldwide. They have a group called Horses Without Carriages International with that exact goal in mond. And they are not going to be satisfied with banning "jut" tourist" or "hack" carriages. They want to eventually ban ANY horse being hitched to any carriage-- I don't know how they expect to get this enforced against the Amish and other buggy-using Plain People

THE TRUTH:

  • Horse-drawn carriages work most of the day in Central Park and the perimeter streets where there have been many accidents. On most days, after 11:30 pm, they go into Times Square and other parts of the City - -until 3AM. There is virtually no oversight .
  • There are no designated paths either to or from the stables -- and there should not be. The law only requires that carriages go by the most direct route. This is a tiny, tiny industry that has held NYC hostage for many years. Instead, these slow moving carriages mix in with heavy traffic on 9th Avenue going to the Lincoln Tunnel to New Jersey -- this is on their way back to the stables. Going to the stables, they often choose 10th Avenue. Both streets are so congested with traffic that at certain times of day, it is hard to make out lanes - 4 or 5?
  • Horses Without Carriages is an organization that I co-founded in 2008, which consists of many cities that have carriage horses trades for tourism. Rome, Chicago and Atlanta are some of the members.
  • We do not get involved with horse-drawn carriages in small communities.
  • Our focus is clear - it is against the urban horse-drawn carriage trade for tourism.

CBS IS A SHILL FOR THE CARRIAGE TRADE
Read the truth below
Recently, CBS teamed up with the Examiner and published lists of carriages companies on CBS web sites in NYC, Atlanta and Seattle. Many of the carriage companies overcharge for rides - it is displayed clearly on their websites and they do it with impunity. Dishonesty and fraud is apparently encouraged. But Horse advocates hit back hard on the related blog. In response, CBS decided to produce another story called Carriage Rides Sparks Outrage Among Animal Rights Activists and again did a terrible job, including misquoting me and giving a hat tip to the industry once more. They also offered a poll, which as of today showed 1,061 votes with 89.32% in favor of a ban and only 10.68% voting no. Yes, this is clearly a dying industry.

These are some of the comments that the writer did not challenge. My response follows in CAPS:

  • "The way we pay our municipal employees and the way we pay them is with taxpayers' money and the taxpayers depend on tourists coming here, and going out in carriages are just one of those things that they do," Bloomberg said." - THE INDUSTRY IS CASH ONLY -- IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH MONEY THEY PAY IN TAXES. BESIDES, NYC HAS EXCELLENT MUSEUMS, THEATER, MUSIC VENUES, RESTAURANTS, SHOPPING, NEIGHBORHOODS, ETC. THIS IS WHY PEOPLE COME TO NYC AND SPEND MONEY -- NOT FOR A CARRIAGE RIDE. THIS IS JUST AN ABSURDITY.
  • Ian McKeever from the Horse Carriage Association - "All a horse wants is to have a job. If horses weren't doing this, they'd be dead. We're doing a credit to these horses by giving them a job and looking after them," he said." - THE INDUSTRY GETS RID OF 60-70 HORSES EVERY YEAR WITH NO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR WHERE THEY GO. HORSES DO NOT NEED A JOB TO EXIST. THEY DO NEED A PLACE TO LIVE OUT THEIR LIVES IN PEACE -- WITH A PASTURE ON WHICH TO GRAZE. THERE NEEDS TO BE A MORATORIUM ON SELFISHLY BREEDING HORSES WHO EVENTUALLY GET THROWN AWAY AND ON TO THE SLAUGHTER AUCTIONS.
  • Ian McKeever - "Meanwhile, McKeever told us that horses spend nine months of the year working and 3 months of the year on a farm - where they receive some of the best care in the country." ABSURD! MCKEEVER APPARENTLY CAN SAY ANYTHING HE WANTS AND THE REPORTER DID NOT CHALLENGE IT THE LAW NOW REQUIRES THAT HORSES GET A 5-WEEK FURLOUGH. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THEIR 47 WEEKS A YEAR - WE KNOW THEY HAVE NO TURNOUT TO PASTURE AND ACCORDING TO THE LAW MAY WORK 9 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK. THE FORMER ASPCA VET WAS QUOTED IN A NY POST ARTICLE IN THE FALL SAYING THAT MANY OF THE HORSES LOOK WORSE WHEN THEY RETURN FROM THIS FURLOUGH. IT WAS NEVER INVESTIGATED OR EXPLAINED.
  • Ian McKeever - "He pointed out that the Horse and Carriage Association of New York has never received a cruelty ticket in the 30 years that he's been with them." A CRUELTY VIOLATION HAS TO BE ISSUED BY THE ASPCA. WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, THE ASPCE HLE OFFICERS ARE NOT OFTEN ON THE JOB ENFORCING THE LAW. ALL OF US WHO HAVE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION OVER THE LAST SIX YEARS KNOW THIS UNEQUIVOCALLY. THE NYPD DOES NOT ENFORCE THE LAW AT ALL. MOST OF THE CRUELTY WITHIN THE INDUSTRY CANNOT BE EASILY PROVEN AND NEEDS PROBABLE CAUSE. WE ARE MORE INTERESTED IN THE INSTITUTIONAL CRUELTY IN THE INDUSTRY -- THAT IS OUR FOCUS. LOOK AT OUR VIDEO ON YOUTUBE ABOUT INSTITUTIONAL CRUELTY
  • from the article "Additionally, the laws restrict the ages at which horses may be licensed to work, increased the number of mandatory annual veterinary visits and requires carriages to carry blankets and have proper safety measures in place." GET THE TRUTH VIA OUR YOUTUBE VIDEO ABOUT THIS ISSUE - CLICK HERE

SOME OF OUR "FAVORITE" VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE + THEIR COMMENTS
These are x-rated for language.

I monitor comments on my Youtube videos. I received this highly intelligent one today - -with the "f-bomb" spelled out. "Dizzy lizzy strikes again. There is nothing druel about driving a carriage. People of P.E.T.A., W.A.R., and A.L.F. GO F**K YOUR SELVES!!!! "

NEXT NEWSLETTER
we will return to more constructive actions
For now, please do not forget the following:
  • Coalition fund raiser on April 23 (save the date)
  • Lobby Day on May 1st
  • Contact your legislators
  • Check back on old newsetters by clicking here.

HELP OUR ORGANIZATION BY SHOPPING ON LINE
Also check out Cafe Press to purchase CBHDC merchandise
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 & Noble. 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.

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.