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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 - CLICK HERE to get your own newsletter. In this issue: Letters to the editor about carriage lies ** BuzzFeed - Drivers Behaving Badly ** Call your Council Member ** Our ad in City and State
NOTE: the best way to receive this newsletter is to subscribe directly. Although I post it on other lists, sometimes (for reasons unknown) they do not approve it - so you are subject to their whims. PLEASE CLICK HERE to subscribe directly. If you want to see past newsletters - CLICK HERE for our archive.
TRUTH ABOUT THE HORSE-CARRIAGE TRADE
Letter in the NY Daily News
Although the Daily News is pro carriage horse trade, the letters/opinion editor is more fair and often includes our letters. This is the letter they printed on August 3rd to which I responded: Equine inequity
Cullman, Ala.: I fail to see how getting rid of horses that have proven over and over again to be healthy, while putting hundreds of families out of work based on a lie peddled by rich special interests like NYCLASS, could possibly be compatible with a "social justice" agenda. Where's the social justice for the carriage people? Anna Felkins
This is my response published this past week:
License for abuse
Manhattan: Voicer Anna Felkins from Alabama - not New York - claims that "getting rid of horses" will put "hundreds of families out of work." This is a lie. Only 220 people have licenses, and many of them are part-time, no longer work in the trade or live in other states and countries while continuing to hold a cheap $30 license. A commercial driver's license in NYC costs more than $100. Besides, Mayor de Blasio said he will offer job replacement to everyone. How many others looking for a job can say that? Elizabeth Forel
NYC CARRIAGE DRIVERS BEHAVING BADLY
Must See: pictorial piece in Buzzfeed
This is a new offering in Buzzfeed by the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages called NYC Carriage Drivers Behaving Badly.
"They whitewash their license plates; do not pay attention to the road, make illegal U-turns; leave their horses unattended and pull them by the bit - and still this tiny (but protected) industry manages to survive. WHY do these violations matter? Because failure to adhere to these basic laws-and basic rules of horsemanship-endangers the public safety."
Please vote at the bottom of the article on Buzzfeed - this will assure that more people see it. You can choose an icon.
URGENT: PLEASE CALL THE CITY COUNCIL
about banning the horse-drawn carriage trade (no e-mails or faxes)
Eight and one half months into the deBlasio administration and we are no closer to shutting down the inhumane and unsafe carriage trade than we were one year ago. All we have are empty promises. Please contact your council member and ask him or her to support a bill to ban horse-drawn carriages. CALL THEM. Do not e-mail or fax. These methods of communication are likely to be deleted. Calls have much more impact and are less likely to be forgotten.
- NYC RESIDENTS: www.council.nyc.gov -- Call your Council Member.
- OUTSIDE NYC: Call Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito's office. 212-828-9800
Instructions
- http://www.council.nyc.gov/html/members/members.shtml
- Plug in your address to find out who your Council Member is.
- Look for the telephone number for the District Office.
- SUGGESTED SCRIPT - YOU: Good morning, my name is [your name] and I am a constituent. I live on [your address] I support an unconditional ban on horse-drawn carriages and I would like to know what [your Council Member's name] position is on this issue. You might also tell them it is a public safety issue and it is inhumane. If you live outside of NYC, call Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito's office and tell them were you live.
- COUNCIL OFFICE: the person who answers the phone may transfer you to someone else or suggest you call the Legislative Office or actually take the message.
- YOU: If they support a ban - thank them; If they are on the fence ask them why and if they would be open to receiving some links to articles. If they are against the ban - ask them why and if they would be open to receiving some links to articles.
- IMPORTANT: If they say they would be willing to receive some information, ask them for the e-mail address of a specific person - maybe the Chief of Staff, maybe the Legislative Aide. Do not agree to send it to their office e-mail. You can say that you want to be sure someone receives it.
- Note: If the Council Office is not able to give you an answer, tell them that you will follow up in a week. Tell them this is a very important issue and you would like an answer. And follow up.
THESE ARE THE ARTICLE LINKS:
- IT'S A SAFETY ISSUE http://carriagehorsesnyc.blogspot.com/2014/07/its-safety-issue.html this article is about the innate nature of a horse and why they should not be in the streets of NYC
- MOST PEOPLE WANT A BAN OF HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES http://carriagehorsesnyc.blogspot.com/2014/07/nyc-most-people-want-ban-of-horse-drawn.html
- LIAM, LIES AND MORE LIES - this is about the lies perpetrated by Liam Neeson and the carriage trade. http://carriagehorsesnyc.blogspot.com/2014/06/liam-lies-and-more-lies.html
RESULT OF PHONE CALL: Please let us know what happened - e-mail us at coalition@banhdc.org
THIS IS OUR AD IN CITY & STATE
Please help us continue our advertising.
Our new ad campaign can be seen in City & State, a publication that reaches government officials -- decision makers who are responsible for public safety. What the media has lost sight of in their quest to bring down Mayor deBlasio, is that the very nature of the horse makes this majestic animal unsuitable to work on the crowded streets of NYC. They are serious accidents waiting to happen. Although gentle by nature, at 1,500 to 2,000 pounds, they can become uncontrollable, unwitting weapons when spooked. As prey animals, their nature is to respond to upsetting stimuli in a flight or fight manner. Horses are predictably unpredictable and there is no such thing as a "bomb proof" horse. Unfamiliar sudden movements or loud noises will often trigger an innate anxiety in a horse, which may lead to panic and fear. Generally in the city, as with what recently happened with Pumpkin, (the horse who spooked a bolted on Central Park South) a horse will bolt into traffic, not caring where he is going or who is in his way. He wants desperately to distance himself from the source of danger. The horse is terrified for his life. Many of the NYC horse spooking accidents have come close to leaving dead people in their wake. There have been serious human injuries, including a few carriage drivers who were hospitalized in a coma. ''Spooking' can happen to even the best-trained and well-mannered horse... there is no such thing as an unspookable horse, nor can the average driver control it once it bolts.'' said horse expert and equine veterinarian, Holly Cheever D.V.M.
A few years ago, a carriage driver was trying to make an illegal u-turn with his horse, Oreo, on Central Park South. Oreo spooked when he encountered a big truck rumbling up the avenue. He bolted into traffic, lost his driver and ran up on the sidewalk - narrowly missing pedestrians. He continued to run down the street to 11th Avenue. That - as with Pumpkin, a recent accident - was a close call. When an out of control powerful horse comes running at you, he is not saying "excuse me, excuse me, sir, coming through." No - he is frantic and just wants to hot tail it away from the source of fear. He will trample you if you are in his way. For city officials to continue to allow this to happen is a huge mistake and very irresponsible.
In 2010, in Salzburg, Austria, a French tourist was knocked down and trampled by a runaway carriage horse who spooked and bolted. She died from her injuries. In 2007, there were two incidents each involving 5-year old girls and carriage horses that ended badly. In Tucson, little Brielle was sitting on a horse in a parade when several carriage horses behind her spooked. She was knocked from her horse and trampled to death. Later that year in St. Petersburg, Russia, another young girl fell from a carriage and was killed when the horse spooked and bolted. Here are a few other noteworthy accidents:
- In 2012, in the UK , a Swiss tourist fell from a carriage after the horse spooked and bolted, and died from her injuries.
- Iowa - In 2010, horses spooked in a parade and ran into the crowd, trampling and injuring 24 people - some seriously and killing a woman passenger who was thrown from the buggy.
- PETA'S list of accidents around the world.
- Animal Aid, a UK animal rights group that has been working on this issue for years reports: There are numerous documented cases of both animal and human injuries, sometimes fatal, after carriage horses have become 'spooked'. A US survey of national carriage horse accidents revealed that:
- 85% of all accidents were the result of an animal spooking
- 70% of the time there was a human injury
- 22% of the time there was a human death
Please donate what you can to help this ad campaign continue. We have come to the end of our Metro ad campaign but hope to start it up again soon. Please remember we are all volunteer and do not take salaries. Every penny you donate is put back into the organization. We are the organization that began the "ban" campaign in 2006 and we plan to continue our ad campaign until this inhumane, unsafe and abusive trade is stopped. We are hoping Mayor deBlasio takes positive action soon. Thanks to all of you who have donated to our campaign. It is much appreciated. We cannot do it without your help. Click here if you would like to donate.
Please read the accompanying article "It's a Safety Issue."
PLEASE JOIN US ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google Blog & Flickr
HELP OUR ORGANIZATION BY SHOPPING ON LINE - iGIVE
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." Click here to begin. 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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