News
New York City: Making at City Hall
For the horses exploited in New York City’s horse-drawn carriage industry, a new page in history was written at City Hall on Friday, January 30 th. Hundreds of animal advocates came out to testify at a historic public hearing for Intro 658-A, Council Member Tony Avella’s bill to ban the industry and give the horses secure future refuge.
This day marked the first time in NYC history that a bill that would end the carriage industry had a public day of reckoning. And what a day it was!
At high noon, a spirited and well-attended press conference began on the steps of City Hall, headed by Council Member Avella, with speakers from the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, Friends of Animals, and TV ‘Golden Girl’ Rue McClanahan.
The hearing started at 1pm. It lasted until nearly 8pm to hear out the huge number of people who came to testify. Many waited several hours for their turn to speak.
Vibrant yellow and blue Friends of Animals signs (“I Support Intro 658-A; Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages”) were held by supporters who filled the seats at City Hall. There were so many people in attendance that an additional room had to be acquired in addition to the seating in the chambers and balcony. This is very unusual for a public hearing, and demonstrated the importance of this issue for so many people.
The carriage industry had their line-up of drivers, stable owners, lobbyists and PR people, but supporters of their horses far outnumbered them.
The City Council’s Consumer Affairs Committee held a dual public hearing, both on Intro 658-A, and on a carriage industry-backed bill that would institute a pay raise for the carriage drivers and weaken the already dismal oversight and regulatory powers held by New York City agencies and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It is a misguided and dangerous bill which would allow even more flagrant abuses of power within the horse-drawn vehicle industry.
Notable testimony included that of equine veterinarian Holly Cheever, who called this Manhattan tourist attraction “an inappropriate anachronism.” Mary Xanthos, a Manhattan-based vet, testified: “There are so many violations witnessed regularly by me, that I believe neither the ASPCA nor the [Heath Department] can regulate this industry properly, and it certainly cannot regulate itself.”
Dr. Deborah Tanzer, a psychologist with a clinical practice in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, testified that the horse-drawn carriage industry’s “lesson to our children is an immoral one. We are saying it is alright to treat horses this way. That it is alright that they are imprisoned, exploited, and sad. Far from teaching compassion and empathy, this message desensitizes us, with harmful consequences for us all.”
Tanzer added, “The link between abuse of animals and violence against humans is well documented, including by the FBI. In this case, witnessing the situation of the carriage horses inevitably desensitizes adults and children alike, planting dangerous seeds for the future. For the sake of the horses, our children, and ourselves, it is time to ban horse-drawn carriages forever.”
Elizabeth Forel, President of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages said: “I wonder why we are not a better, more compassionate people than to continue to allow these horses to be exploited for profit,” adding: “Times are changing and the paradigm is shifting.”
Indeed, the horse-drawn carriage industry is a blight on New York City’s moral progress, but the City Council has the opportunity to set a wonderful precedent for the rest of the world by changing that.
Priscilla Feral, President of Friends of Animals, testified that “[m]any thousands of our New York City members strongly support Intro 658-A, Tony Avella's bill to end the horse-drawn carriage industry in New York City.” Feral continued:
“There is no way to improve the lives of more than 200 horses forced to endure a daily existence contrary to their basic needs, in a chaotic
environment totally at odds with their physiology. We also oppose Intro 653-A, a regulatory bill that assumes there is a way to make a wrong situation justifiable. Let New York City get the horses out of shackles, off the streets, and into sanctuaries where they can live their remaining years in dignity. Do the horses need a union to get there?”
What You Can Do
If you are a NYC resident, continue to send letters and make phone calls to your Council Member’s District Office, asking them to support the ban on horse-drawn carriages (Intro 658-A), to oppose to Intro 653-A. You can locate your Council Members here: http://www.council.nyc.gov/html/members/members.shtml. Or call 311 to get contact information on Council Members.
Actions for those who live outside of New York City
The Council Committee on Consumer Affairs needs to hear feedback from everyone in support of Intro 658-A, the bill to ban the industry, and opposed to Intro 653-A , the industry-backed regulatory bill. Please contact the Council Members listed below and be the voice for the horses , preferably by mailing a handwritten letter, or calling them at the District Offices listed below. Tell them it’s time to end this industry once and for all.
A date has not yet been set for the vote. Press these Council Members to vote on this bill, and in support of it. If it passes through them, it will then move on to the rest of the Council for a vote, so please speak out.
Leroy Comrie (Chair of the Consumers Affair Committee) – 718-776-3700
District Office Address
113-43 Farmers Boulevard
St. Albans , NY 11412
Oliver Koppell -718-549-7300
District Office Address
3636 Waldo Avenue
Bronx, New York 10463
Charles Barron – 718-649-9495/9496
District Office Address
718 Pennsylvania Ave.
Brooklyn, New York 11207
James Gennaro –718-217-4969
District Office Address
185-10 Union Turnpike
Fresh Meadows, New York 11366
John Liu –718-888-8747
District Office Address
135-27 38th Avenue
Suite 388
Flushing, New York 11354
