Activists and horse carriage drivers have been at it for a while now, but today they are facing off at City Hall with legislation to ban the industry at stake. Quite a few cities have done away with horses pulling carriages already and in my opinion, it would be great if we'd follow their lead. Passions are high on both sides and it can clearly be seen by the amount of people at City Hall today.
From PolitickerNY:
Of course, the newly minted teamsters are backing Weprin's bill. Perhaps that is because even with new regulations, they'll probably be left unenforced, just as the current ones are. Studies have shown that the agencies meant to police the horse carriage industry have failed again and again. The truth of the matter is, that despite the half-truths and lies spread by the people who work with these horses, it is cruel and inhumane for these creatures to ferry people around Midtown Manhattan. There are much better ideas that we can all get behind, such as utilizing classic cars to take people around the park that would provide just as many jobs as the horse industry does.At the start of a Council hearing on a proposed bill to ban the carriage horse industry, a collection of about 20 people stood outside the gates in consternation. They had been told that the hearing room was full.
"We're all in this together," said a distraught Pamela Seri, owner of a vegan restaurant on the Upper West Side. "This has to stop. They can't go on like this anymore." The hearing room inside was indeed packed, with PETA-sticker-sporting horse lovers and carriage horse drivers themselves.
At issue are two bills: one, spearheaded by Councilman Tony Avella, to ban horse carriages outright, which has been in the works for several years as the anti-carriage movement has bubbled up around the legislative fringes. The other, proposed by Councilman David Weprin, would raise the price of a carriage ride from $34 per half hour to $54 and impose other regulations for the health of the horses.
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