Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages

Zelda Penzel  

Mayor Bloomberg, we are here for yet another appeal to let reason and the humane treatment of horses prevail.  The present bill, as you’re more than well aware, is an industry-designed bill, jammed down the throats of protesting NY taxpayers, thanks to the back room deals made by our city politicians and our Speaker, who has never seen a pro-animal bill that she liked! It’s all about money and power and the cynical use of the political system to do favors for friends and contributors to re-election funds.  This bill is a sham which does not begin to address the concerns of those who care about the fate of the horses condemned to a life of indentured slavery.  

But the issue of horse driven carriages in NY isn't going away.  Over 50 thousand New Yorkers and visitors to our city have signed petitions demanding that this 19th century anachronism and miserable excuse for tourist entertainment, be banned and removed from our overcrowded, noisy streets. Day in, day out, in temperatures that are frigid in winter and sweltering in summer the poor beasts toil away, never getting a daily turnout with a chance to run free in the grassy fields that should be home to these magnificent herd animals; and regardless of what the industry tells us, we all know that their miserable, insignificant and expendable lives are spent nose to tailpipe, inhaling exhaust, overworked, under-watered, stressed and spooked out; and when not forced to drag around the loads of naïve and ignorant tourists on the mean streets of NY, they're confined to tiny stalls in dreary tenement-like, fire trap, stables and ultimately doomed to end their miserable lives in the brutal slaughter houses of Mexico.     

Most New Yorkers are sickened by the sight of these poor animals and think it's time to move on. Let’s get a fleet of colorful, convertible/open top antique style electric cars! It would really liven up the city, give work to the auto industry and keep the air free of pollution, while benefitting the poor animals who suffer on the hard pavements of NY.

Mayor Bloomberg, please do the right thing!  This is one tradition which, just like slavery, belongs in the dustbin of history! 

Please veto Intro 35A!

To honor
Bobby II Freedom
previously known as Billy
ID# 2873 rescued by the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages and Equine Advocates on June 25, 2010 from the New Holland auctions.

In memory of
Lilly Rose O'Reilly
previously known
as Dada ID# 2711
R.I.P.August, 2007