NYC Mayor To Introduce Bill to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
Articles - Stop Horse Drawn Carriages from All-Creatures.org Animal Rights Activism Campaigns
Be a Voice for the Voiceless

Resources and information to help end abusive horse-drawn carriage businesses.

---

FROM

Donny Moss, Their Turn
December 2014

After an eight year campaign on the streets, at City Hall and on the big screen, activists in NYC are one giant step closer to achieving their goal of ending horse-drawn carriage rides in the congested streets of midtown Manhattan.

On the week of December 8th, Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to introduce a bill that would prohibit the city from renewing horse-drawn carriage licenses starting in mid-2016 and prevent the horses from being slaughtered. The bill also offers several job saving provisions, including free green taxi medallions (value: $6,000) for horse-drawn carriage drivers. The bill won’t be put up for a vote for several months to allow for a public hearing and lobbying by both sides.

In 2006, a veteran animal rights activist in NYC, Elizabeth Forel, founded the Coaliton to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages. The group’s relentless efforts led to a change in the public discourse, with New Yorkers and elected officials talking for the first time about about banning, instead of reforming, the trade.

Coalition to Ban Horse Drawn Carriages Protest
(photo: Donny Moss)

In 2008, another animal rights group, NY-CLASS, which has been lobbying NYC lawmakers for the past several years in support of a horse-drawn carriage ban, proposed an alternative to the carriages – electric vintage cars – to address objections by lawmakers that a ban would eliminate jobs. The Mayor’s bill would allow carriage drivers to pursue this alternative, if they are interested.

Music legend Chrissie Hynde introduces NYC Media to electric vintage car proposed by NY-CLASS

Over the years, the animal rights group PETA has raised awareness of the plight of NYC’s carriage horses through provocative campaigns, celebrity spokespeople and protests.

PETA billboard in Times Square

In 2008 and 2009, the documentary film BLINDERS about NYC’s horse-drawn carriage controversy aired on the Documentary Channel and was screened at film festivals around the country, exposing an unsuspecting public to the truth behind the tradition of NYC’s horse-drawn carriage trade.

After being educated about the issue, Mayor de Blasio made a campaign promise to ban “inhumane” and “unsafe” horse-drawn carriages from NYC streets during the 2014 Mayoral race.

Watch the award-winning documentary film BLINDERS: The Truth Behind the Tradition.

---

Return to: Articles
Return to: Stop Horse Drawn Carriages
Return to: Campaigns
Return to: Animal Rights Activism