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8-32 September 14, 2014
 
 

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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 - In this issue: ** - Call-In Day - to the City Council ** Highlights of the week ** what is the mayor really saying ** Ads - City & State and Our Town ** this week's calendar ** Salt Lake City - sign petition

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.

CALL-IN DAY - MONDAY SEPT. 15TH - PLEASE CALL THE CITY COUNCIL
about banning the horse-drawn carriage trade (no e-mails or faxes)
Other groups are also participating in this Call-In. Regardless of whether you have called or been in contact with your Councilmember - please do so on Monday, September 15th. Your Council Member needs to know how their constituents feel about this issue. Nine 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. 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:

RESULT OF PHONE CALL: Please let us know what happened - e-mail us at [email protected]

THE WEEK THAT WAS
an update on the horse-drawn carriage issue
  • JUSTICE FOR BLONDIE: In December 2013, Saverio Colarusso, NYC carriage driver, was charged with working his horse lame for four days. Blondie had Thrush, a very painful condition that often comes from standing too long in dirty feces and urine soaked stall bedding. In May, the Department of Consumer Affairs revoked his license but he is still seen hanging around the horses at the hack line. His case has dragged on for a long time. The next court hearing is November 5th. The Manhattan DA's office has a terrible record of prosecuting animal cruelty - often just giving a slap on the wrist. What good are animal cruelty laws if they are not to be used? They are offering Colarusso five days community service and it looks like they will plead down the misdemeanor charge.
  • Please contact the ADA in charge of this case Samuel Coe - [email protected] and let him know that you are very disappointed with the way the case is being handled and it is wasting tax payer money by dragging it out. Ask him not to reduce the charges - and to give Colarusso at least some jail time. Ask him why he did not charge the horse's owner or the stable manager of Clinton Stables - both of them are equally responsible for Blondie's condition - they should have known. Tell him that DA Cyrus Vance is an elected official and we will work against him in the next election if he dismisses this case.

Last week, first term Council Member Rafael Espinal announced that he would not support a ban. This was very foolish for a first term council member. He was surrounded by the bully Teamsters and carriage drivers - interestingly, no other Council members. He parroted the exact same words the carriage industry says, all the while saying he had done his own "research." The Daily News reported on this.Click Here.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CITY COUNCIL - please read about this issue . Important! Click Here.

WHAT IS MAYOR DEBLASIO REALLY SAYING?
he is constantly "interpreted" by the media
The Mayor's administration has chosen to play this issue very close to the vest. This means that he rarely comments and when he does, it is limited. I do not necessarily agree with this approach, but I see that no matter what he says - it is spun according to who is doing the spinning - Daily News, NY Post, Fox News. Here is an example.

I often call the Mayor's office and ask about a particular comment made by the administration. I have been told very clearly that the Mayor is on our side. He definitely supports a ban and the legislation will be introduced into the City Council by the end of the year -- hopefully sooner, rather than later. They want all their "Is" dotted and "Ts" crossed before it is introduced because you know the media will be all over it.

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."

NEW AD IN OUR TOWN, WEST SIDE SPIRIT, DOWNTOWN/ OUR TOWN
published this week
This ad will be published in these three newspapers this week under the Best of the Best: this is the text: The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages is an all-volunteer, grassroots group formed in 2006. Our goal is to shut down the inhumane and unsafe carriage trade, which has enjoyed many entitlements from past administrations in the way of low fees, subsidized rent, unenforced laws, and a laissez-faire attitude toward the horses' suffering. A turnover of 71 horses a year is recorded in this business, and we believe many are laundered through the Amish on their way to the kill auctions.

Countless accidents involving horse-drawn carriages have been documented, most caused by nervous, spooking horses, resulting in dead and injured horses and injured humans. It is only a matter of time before a person dies. We say enough is enough and implore Mayor deBlasio to take the action he promised: Ban horse-drawn carriages and save the horses. Website: banhdc.org; Blog: carriagehorsesnyc.blogspot.com; Facebook: No Walk in the Park; Twitter: BanHDCarriages

THIS WEEK'S CALENDAR
PROTEST CM RAFAEL ESPINAL who had the audacity and the stupidity to DEFEND the abusive, corrupt carriage horse industry and even threatened to block the Mayor's efforts to help the horses!:
  • WHEN: Monday September 15th - 11:00 AM
  • WHERE: Espinal District Office - 786 Knickerbocker Ave Brooklyn, NY 11207 - Take L train to the Halsey Ave stop.

SUPPORT KITTY DOE! Please join us at a court hearing to protest the killing of a little homeless cat - beaten up and burned to death .

  • WHEN: Thursday, September 18th at 9:00 am
  • WHERE: Bronx Supreme Court -Criminal Term 265 E161st St. Bronx, NY 10451
  • DEFENDANT: Ernesto Bailey
  • DOCKET ##: 2014BX039733
  • PART: 78
WE NEED PHONE CALLS, LETTERS AND E-MAILS SENT TO THE PROSECUTOR!!! This is to request the MAXIMUM punishment, NO leniency, and NO PLEA DEAL for ERNESTO BAILEY CASE#: 2014BX039733 DA Robert T. Johnson's office: 718-590-2000 The Office of the Bronx County District Attorney 198 East 161st Street Bronx, NY 10451 [email protected], [email protected]

CARRIAGE HORSE DEMO

  • WHEN: Saturday September 20th - 1-3PM
  • WHERE: Hack line - north side Central Park South off Fifth Ave.

PEOPLE'S CLIMATE MARCH:

SALT LAKE CITY , UTAH - CARRIAGE COMPANY CLOSES SHOP
sign petition
Salt Lake City carriage company closes shop. No other takes its place. This is the company where Jerry, the elderly carriage horse, died last year, collapsing in harness. Please SIGN THIS ONGOING PETITION.

This is Jerry pictured here.

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
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 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.

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.