Big Win For Animal Activists and Carriage Horses

Hello Progressive Earth followers, some of you may know that I have been involved in the cause of trying to eliminate carriage horses in Central Park. The devate has been going on for a while now, and most people with common sense will agree that NYC is no place for horses to be walking around, among traffic and the pollution of NYC. This is an e-mail that was sent to me from the office of counsil speaker Quinn, she has a lot influence in the outcome.

Dear Ms. Duarte,


On April 14th, after many months of discussion and debate, the NYC Council passed legislation, introduced by Council Member James Gennaro, that will result in better working conditions and improved safety for carriage horses in New York City.


Now, I realize this may fall short of what some had hoped for.
My colleagues and I have done our best to strike a fair balance between having stronger regulations in place to protect these special animals and allowing the carriage horse industry, which supports approximately 300 families, to continue functioning.


In addition to prohibiting carriages from operating below 34th Street and from operating between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m., the bill also ensures that horses will have five weeks of vacation per year. It also sets lower and upper age limits for carriage horses and doubles the number of required annual veterinary visits for all working horses. Furthermore, horses will be given larger stalls and heavy and waterproof blankets to wear when the weather is cold or rainy.


And because the safety of drivers, horses and pedestrians is of paramount concern to all of us, we have included requirements for:


Reflective material on all carriages;


An emergency brake system on all carriages,


Additional training time for new drivers; and


Drivers licenses for new horse carriage drivers.

 Finally, the legislation that we passed increases the rates for horse carriage rides so that they are equivalent to rates charged for other tourist attractions in New York City.
I want to thank you and everyone else who came out in such strong support for these animals. I believe in time we will see this as a positive step forward for these horses and the carriage horse industry.


I want to assure you as well that we will be vigilant in our efforts to ensure that the provisions and requirements of our law are being met and that every effort is being made to improve the health and well-being of these horses.

 Thanks again for sharing your views and advocating on behalf of these special animals.




Sincerely,


Christine C. Quinn


Speaker