Proposal to ban Central Park horse carriages voted down by key NYC council committee
NEW YORK (AP) — Central Park’s iconic horse-drawn carriages will trot on, for now. A proposal to ban the popular tourist attractions that have been fixtures in Central Park for more than 150 years failed to clear a key New York City Council committee on Friday.
The council’s Committee on Health voted against sending the proposal to the full council for its consideration following a packed hearing.
The Transport Workers Union of America, which represents horse carriage workers, applauded the panel for standing up for their members.
“They are hardworking immigrants who take good care of their horses, and have consistently been attacked and slandered by monied interests who care nothing about animal welfare,” John Samuelsen, the union’s president, said in a statement.
But animal rights advocates who have long called for ending the industry, derided the vote as a “sham” as they vowed to continue their fight The debate over the popular tourist draw was revived over the summer when a carriage horse collapsed and died near its stables, with videos and photos of the animal’s body in a city street circulating widely online
Critics say carriage horses can get easily spooked on city streets, leading to accidents and injuries. They also say the horses are overworked and live in inadequate stables, and that their drivers flaunt city regulations, including leaving behind piles of horse manure.
“Horses have collapsed, even dropped dead on the streets recently. Multiple horses have had violent runaway spooking incidents, crashing into vehicles, sending New Yorkers to the hospital, and nearly trampling others,” New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets, or NYCLASS, said in a Friday statement.