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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 FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES ** NYS Avella/Rosenthal bill - take action ** Successful Demo on Sunday ** Horse spooks at hack line ** Horse on St. Patrick's Day ** Susan Wagner radio interview against horse slaughter ** NYC mayoral race ** St. Augustine stable shuts down
SUNDAY'S EDUCATIONAL DEMO - VERY SUCCESSFUL
Some days it seems that people are just getting it about the carriage horse trade. One of those days was Sunday at the hack line. We handed out a lot of literature and persuaded many people not to take a carriage ride. There was lots of positive interaction.
There were tourists from all over the US, Venezuela, Argentina, Columbia, Mexico, Scotland and Togo to name a few - all were sympathetic. Representatives from the carriage trade were out in force trying to promote support for "working horses." But it did not matter because we owned the day. Thanks to everyone who came out in support. (photo by MC)
HORSE SPOOKS AT HACK LINE
scene from hack line - 3-23-13
This is from Carriage Horse Cruelty: "We witnessed a terrifying event at the hack line yesterday. Many of the horses seemed agitated that day but one in particular was stopped at a red light while a huge crowd of people were crossing. He got agitated and was trying to go forward but the driver kept trying to hold him back so he wouldn't plow into the crowd of people but he kept on trying to move forward and all of a sudden he started bucking and rearing up. Thankfully the crowd in the street dissipated (or ran out of the way is more like it) while the horse was bucking and this went on for 30-40 seconds. Finally the light changed and the driver was able to regain control of the horse. Very frightening moment and yet another illustration of why these horses do not belong in NYC traffic."
This could have turned into a horrifying accident. When are our city officials going to comprehend that horses do not belong in the traffic of NYC?
ST PATRICK'S DAY FOR NYC CARRIAGE HORSES
romantic? - hardly - abusive? - absolutely
Working horses in the chaotic conditions of NYC is just wrong and obviously about money. People who care about horses would never subject them to this kind of environment.
See this video on Youtube - Carriage Horses on St. Patrick's Day.
This video was taken on St. Patrick's Day in NYC by an activist. The sounds in the background are from the noisy St. Patrick's Day parade - one of the rowdiest in the nation. It runs along Fifth Avenue and passes the hack line at 59th St. There is no consideration for the horses and the rides continue. The weather on St. Patrick's Day in NYC was cold with light snow and sleet.
Notice in the video:
- NYC's traffic - no place for a sensitive horse (or people)
- driver pulling and tugging on his horse to get into a "parking" space. it is hard to tell if he is pulling him by the bit or bridle. We have seen many drivers roughly pull their horse's bit, which is painful.
- many of the drivers have not blanketed their horse with a rain sheet or blanket - but they protect themselves with umbrellas or hoods.
- Many of the parked horses are left unattended and untethered - this is not only against the law but it is also against the suggested rules put out by CONA (Carriage Operators of North America) - it is dangerous for a driver not to have control of his horse at all times. A horse can spook at the slightest provocation and bolt into traffic causing havoc.
- one driver is behind the barricades separating himself from his horse while filming the person taking the video. His horse remains unattended
- notice the illegal u-turns
- ASPCA Humane Law Officers??? - no where to be found.
- The rule about "unattended and untethered" is a Department of Health regulation. Where were the inspectors?
- Is this what NYC wants to be known for -- or to paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi - "the greatness of New York City and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals (carriage horses, circus elephants, homeless animals, geese, etc.) are treated."
ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA - CARRIAGE STABLE SHUTS DOWN
letter to the editor
Recently one of the largest carriage horse stables shut down in St.. Augustine, Florida. This letter was published on St. Augustine.com.: Editor: While I'm not happy to see a handful of people who work for Avalon Carriage lose their jobs, I am very glad to know that our streets will be less hazardous to residents, tourists and the carriage horses. I've believed for a long time that horse carriages from the 18th Century don't belong on the same roads as today's cars. Many accidents have shown that mixing the two is dangerous.
This city has too much to offer to be tainted by abused animals on our streets. Seeing hot, tired horses pulling carts full of people on boiling hot pavement is not tourist-friendly. I'm tired of hearing how horse carriages are "quaint and part of our tradition."
When St. Augustine was founded in 1565 the first slaves were brought to America through this city. And women were only 355 years away from voting! These are no longer considered respectable traditions. Animal abuse, considered the norm centuries ago, should also be relegated to the past.
This was one of the responses to the letter above: Horses pulling carriages is not abuse.
Mr. Klang, have you ever owned a horse?
People who comment on activities with which they have no expertise are very often in error but never in doubt.
This is a typical response from those who want to continue working their horses on the street, disobeying the laws of the city and of morality. But it is a bogus argument. There are many people who have horses, who rescue horses, who are horse experts and would never subject their horse to working the streets as a carriage horse. And there are many more people who do not keep horses or know that much about them, but know that using them in this way is morally wrong .
NYC'S MAYORAL ELECTION ACTIVITIES CONTINUE
These are givens: Speaker Christine Quinn is one of the candidates running for Mayor. We are opposed to her candidacy for many reasons. First and foremost was her colluding with Mayor Bloomberg in 2009 to kill term limits to allow them another term in office - and of course, her support of the carriage horse trade and killing any meaningful animal issues bill during her tenure as speaker. We do not know who we will support at this time. Bill DeBlasio looks interesting and he has said he will ban the horse-drawn carriage trade if elected. These are some articles of interest:
- Alec Baldwin writes in the Huffington Post - The Mighty Quinnberg - 3/18/13. He is very critical of Christine Quinn
- NY Daily News article - 3/21/13 about one of the mayoral debates. Notice the second paragraph from the end: Public Advocate Bill de Blasio was the only candidate to say he'd ban horse-drawn carriages, a position that won the crowd's approval.
BILL TO BAN HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES IN NYS LEGISLATURE
Please make calls - Bill Numbers: S667 and A997 + Sign the petition
The only bill to support in the campaign to ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC is the Avella/Rosenthal bill in the State Legislature. It is a pure ban. There are no strings attached. This is a link to a petition we have on change. org. Please sign it if you have not done so already.
You can read the legislation by clicking on the bill numbers, S667 and A997 . Text in CAPS is new. Text with a strike through is deleted.
PLEASE CALL MEMBERS OF CITIES COMMITTEE
to support S667 and A997 - The horses need your help!
The horses need your help. The best way to lobby your representative is to meet in person. If anyone wants to do that, please contact us at coalition@banhdc.org. The next best thing is a snail mail letter. Please see our newsletter from last week for the names of all the Cities Committee members and the links to their pages. Then comes phone calls. They are effective also.
The telephone list is divided into Senate and Assembly - please make as many phone calls as you can. All you have to say is:
My name is ______ and I live in ______ (borough or other city if not New York.) I am calling in support of S667 (or A997 if you are calling an Assemblymember.) I would like to know if Senator ______ (or Assemblymember _______ ) will sponsor this bill, which would prohibit the operation of horse-drawn carriages in New York City. Please get back to me on this issue. I will call back in a few days if I do not hear from you. " You should leave your e-mail , telephone number and/or address. If you live outside of New York City or state, please call anyway. This issue has resonated around the world and the carriage trade is frequented by tourists.
If they ask for any information and they generally do not - and if you are not able to provide it - tell them you will get back to them and then contact us - coalition@banhdc.org.
Please note changes in BOLD.
- CITIES COMMITTEE - SENATE:
- Andrew Lanza - chairman (NYC) - (518) 455-3215
- Greg Ball (845) 279-3773
- Neil D. Breslin (518) 455-2225
- John A. DeFrancisco - (Syracuse) (315) 428-7632
- Mark Grisanti - (Buffalo) (716) 854-8705
- CITIES COMMITTEE - ASSEMBLY
- Felix Ortiz - chairman - (NYC) (718) 492-6334
- Joseph Borelli (NYC) (718) 967-5194
- Edward Braunstein (NYC) (718) 357-3588
- John Ceretto (Niagara Falls) (716) 282-6062
- Jane Corwin (Clarence) (716) 839-4691
- Marcos Crespo (NYC) (718) 893-0202
- Rafael L. Espinal, Jr. (NYC) (718) 235-5627
- Michael Kearns (Buffalo) (716) 826-0152
- Micah Kellner - (NYC) (212) 860-4906
- Shelley Mayer (Yonkers) (914) 779-8805
- John McDonald III (518) 455-4474
- Walter Mosley (NYC) (718) 596-0100
- Bill Nojay (585) 334-5210
- James Tedisco (Schenectady) (518) 370-2812
- David Weprin (NYC) (718) 454-3027
E-mail addresses are deemed to be not as effective because they can be easily deleted. However, if you do not have the time to make phone calls and want to take the chance and write an e-mail - these are the groupings:
SENATE
lanza@senate.state.ny.us; jdefranc@nysenate.gov; grisanti@nysenate.gov; gball@nysenate.gov; breslin@senate.state.ny.us
ASSEMBLY
kellnerm@assembly.state.ny.us; MayerS@assembly.state.ny.us; HeastieC@assembly.state.ny.us; braunsteine@assembly.state.ny.us; cerettoj@assembly.state.ny.us; kearnsm@assembly.state.ny.us; weprind@assembly.state.ny.us; espinalr@assembly.state.ny.us; corwinj@assembly.state.ny.us; crespom@assembly.state.ny.us; tediscoj@assembly.state.ny.us
HORSE SLAUGHTER IN THE US
an ongoing fight
One of the best sources for this issue is the Equine Welfare Alliance. You can sign up for their newsletters to keep on top of the issue. In the meantime, please listen to this excellent interview of Susan Wagner, president of Equine Advocates in New York State -as she talks about the bill in Oklahoma on 1055 FM Radio in Oklahoma. Follow the directions on their web site and when you get to the radio station's web site - click on KOOL Konversations on the left. Please take the action suggested on Equine Advocates' web site.
PLEASE JOIN US ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK & YOUTUBE
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 & Noble. Even Cafe Press is available if you purchase some of our merchandise. Click here to get started.
On iGive - 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.
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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.
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