Update: New York City Council member Tony Avella did introduce an ordinance to ban horse drawn carriages in the city.  A copy is in Animal Law Coalition's Pending Bills. Find and contact city council members at the end of this article and write (faxes are best) or call and urge them to support Intro 658. For talking points, read Animal Law Coalition's earlier report below.

At the same time, please ask Council Member not to support Intro 652 and Intro 653 sponsored by Council Member James Gennaro. The first bill - Intro 652 - would increase rates. The second bill - Intro 653 - would transfer oversight to a non-governmental agency and cost the taxpayers. The idea is to ban horse drawn cabs through Intro 658, not regulate them further.

 Also for more information, click here.

Original report: On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 New York City council member Tony Avella plans to propose an ordinance to ban horse drawn carriages in the city. 

It is a matter of safety - for the horses.  It is also a matter of humane treatment. 

For too long these horses have been exploited to promote tourism in New York. In fact, Mayor Michael Blumenthal was recently quoted as saying to the effect the horse drawn carriages "define" New York, that they should remain a "fixture".  

Seriously?  

In the past two years two horses have died in accidents while pulling carriages. The most recent fatality occurred when the horse was spooked by street musicians.  In an open letter to the mayor and city council last year, veterinarian Holly Cheever, DVM, documented the cruelty suffered by New York's carriage horses.  Dr. Cheever points out the busy traffic patterns, hard road surfaces and exhaust fumes cause the horses to suffer at the least respiratory illnesses, heat prostration, hypothermia, dehydration, arthritis, injuries resulting in lameness, and panic or spooking.

According to Coalition for New York City Animals, a carriage horse has a working life of less than 4 years while a police horse will work for approximately 14 years.

Horse drawn vehicles have been banned from London, Paris, Beijing, Toronto, and Santa Fe. For a list of other cities where horse drawn vehicles are banned, click here. http://www.all-creatures.org/nyca/ch-fact-cities.html

Current Regulations 

There are city regulations for the care and treatment of the now 220 licensed carriage horses, but they are either hard to enforce or there are simply not enough resources to assure compliance. The ASPCA has primary responsibility, and the Department of Health issues permits and registrations for the horses and stables and also conducts inspections. The Department of Consumer Affairs and the NYC police also have jurisdiction over the carriage horse industry.   

The regulations can be found in New York City's Administrative Code, §§17-326-17-334.1; 19-174-175; and 20-371-20-383. These sections largely concern licensing, identification, operator training, inspections, insurance, lighting, and boarding of passengers for the horse drawn cabs or carriages.

There is a provision for a horse advisory board to address issues relating to health and safety of the carriage horses. Until last week the advisory board was non-existent, however.  But in the face of Council member Avello's proposed ban and a well-attended rally in support of it this past weekend, the Dept of Health has scrambled to cobble together a horse advisory board comprised of representatives of veterinarians, the horse carriage industry, and the public. The board has now met one time.

There are some limits on the operation of the horse drawn carriages in the city. Except for Thanksgiving, Christmas day and New Year's Day,  horse drawn cabs cannot be driven or operated between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and  10:00  a.m.  on  Monday  through  Friday. And, also except for those holidays, from 10:00 a.m. and  9:00  p.m.  on  Monday  through  Friday, the operation of the horse drawn cabs is limited to the area  inside  or immediately  adjacent to Central Park. There are also limits on the areas of operation of the carriages on weekends and week day nights and also these holidays. § 20-381.1(2), (3), and (4) Horse drawn carriages may never be operated in a tunnel or on a bridge.

With New York's notoriously heavy traffic, these restrictions are simply not enough to protect the horses. In fact, note there is no restriction on when the horses can be made to travel to and from the park.

 §17-329-330 address care and treatment of the horses. Interestingly, §17-329 requires horses to be disposed of in a "humane" manner. Does that include sale at auction to kill buyers who then ship them to slaughter houses? 

Horses are not to work more than 9 hours in a 24 hour period including 15 minute breaks every 2 hours.  §  17-329-330(g) How can the ASPCA possibly enforce this?

The regulations require "owners" to "insure  that  appropriate  and  sufficient  food  and  drinking  water are available for each horse and that while working each horse is permitted to eat and drink at reasonable intervals". §17-329-330(e) Fresh water must be provided during the mandatory rest periods. §17-329-330(g) Again, is this really enforceable?  

Stables are subject to inspections and must be "adequate" with clean, dry straw or other bedding and "adequate[]" heating and ventilation. §§17-330c, (d), (j). There is no fire protection or sprinkler system required. There are no particular size requirements; some are so small horses cannot turn around or move comfortably or lie down.

Curiously, the regulations do not explicitly stop owners from working horses that are injured or lame. The regulations say only that the ASPCA or the health commissioner's veterinarian can issue an order preventing an owner from using a horse that is lame or  "suffers from  a  physical  condition  or  illness  making  it  unsuitable  for  work" . But if within 48 hours of the order, the horse is working again without approval of a vet, and is "disabled by the same condition", then the owner is subject to a citation.  §17-330(m)

The only other protections required to prevent injury are limits on the speed the horses are driven (no more than a trot) and requirements the "[h]orses shall be suitably trimmed or  shod,  and  saddles,  bridles,  bits,  road harnesses and any other equipment used on or with a horse at  work shall be maintained and properly fitted". §17-330(h),(i)

Owners are required to have the horses examined by a veterinarian "not more than one time each year". §17-330(n)  An odd way to phrase what should be a requirement the horses receive regular veterinary care and especially when needed.

The horses are not allowed to work in temperatures below 18 degrees F and above 90 degrees F, but these restrictions do not take into account wind chill or the heat index. Also, the drivers are not required to carry thermometers. What about the fact that, according to the Commissioner of Transportation, the asphalt on which the horses are forced to stand can reach temperatures of 200 degrees F? Finally, note that owners are allowed up to ½ hour to get horses out of such weather if the temperatures reach such extremes in the middle of a ride. §17-330(n)

A catch all requirement bans horse drawn carriages from the streets during "adverse weather" or "dangerous conditions". §17-330(f) But what does this mean? How is this enforced?

That's it. Other than New York's animal cruelty laws, there are no other regulations for these poor horses.

Consider the findings of Dr. Holly Cheever who worked as an inspector of the carriage horses and stables, has said she routinely found the horses did not receive adequate water, were given poor hoof care and shoeing, and had harness sores. Dr. Cheever found the stables were "distressingly inadequate", dirty, and lacking in clean bedding and temperature control and ventilation. The horses were usually kept in tie stalls, narrow spaces where they could not turn around or move comfortably, let alone roll, lie down or scratch.  She decried the lack of opportunity for turn out: "The horses had no opportunity to perform natural movements or experience normal socialization, so necessary for a herd animal, for their entire lives in this industry."

Click here to sign the petition calling for a ban on this cruel industry.

For more information about New York's carriage horses, their suffering and how you can help, visit these sites:

http://www.equineadvocates.com/

 http://www.all-creatures.org/bhdc/

http://www.all-creatures.org/nyca/ch.html

http://www.all-creatures.org/nyca/ch-what.html  What You Can Do!

Email Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and urge him to support the ban on horse drawn carriages

Click here for names and contact information for New York's City Council members. If you live in New York, you can also find your council member by entering your name and address as indicated on this page: Find and contact New York City Council Members