Tradition or Cruelty?

After the death of a mare in Manhattan, a call to ban the city's famous horse-drawn carriages has sparked a national debate.

By Jessica Bennett | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Sep 25, 2007 | Updated: 3:28 p.m. ET Sep 27, 2007

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Discuss

Posted By: po8vamp @ 01/30/2008 2:20:27 PM

Comment: I can't stand the fact that people still believe that tradition is more important than the safety of an animal or a human being! Who in this world honestly believes that these people care about tradition?! C'mon now - it's called waking up and realizing that the times are changing hence the reason why this change is necessary for the safety of these animals. It's like the special I say on TV, with the elephants that work with carnivals and the circus, the get abused and overworked (either by being trained too harshly or by just work) and then they sort of "snap" and go on a crazy rampage .. in the end who is the one that has to get shot or euthanized? The poor animal who has no right being in such an attraction but just in it's own natural habitat. Bunch of money hungry, stupid asses are what we are surrounded by. Disgusting!
Posted By: MontanaBobbie @ 01/17/2008 6:15:21 PM

Comment: I've never been to New York so I don't know about the busy streets,but,would it be possible to have public stables which the horses would use in Central Park and only have the carriages travel the trails in the park? I know how wonderful an animal the horse is and I also know what pleasure children and adults take in just seeing and being close to them. The ASPCA or animal shelter or what ever org New York has could police the care and treatment of the animals.
Posted By: KarinM @ 12/29/2007 11:06:37 AM

Comment: It is past time to ban horse-drawn carriages. As the city audit found, the horses are poorly cared for and there are disturbing inconsistencies in the record-keeping. The sight of dead horses on NYC streets is not in any way romantic; it is pathetic. Horses that are forced to work in the nation's most congested city are endangered, and so is the public. I am disheartened to think that there is any debate on this topic at all. Like the human slave trade, this industry is a tradition that must end. The City Council that would give the industry a raise should instead do the right thing and ban it. Would it hurt the lazy tourists to take a walk???
Posted By: otis11 @ 12/17/2007 9:43:42 PM

Comment: I am so glad to hear others have concerns about this. While visiting Manhattan last Christmas I had to call the Humane Society regarding the horrible condition of one of the horses. I gave the license number of the carriage and they told me there are many horses that are mistreated, that they will do what they can. Many of them look old, tired and some even injured. I was leaving Central Park with my family when we noticed a horse drawn carriage at the light. When the horse started walking it was limping. We got the driver's attention, he looked over thinking we wanted to hire him. I told him his horse was hurt and he looked away and continued down the street. It was obvious he didn't care. He would lose money if he had to park the horse. This is a highly abusive situation. These poor horses are overworked! Next time you are there, notice the worn places on their legs where the harness rubs. Please do something to help them. This is not a romantic fairy tale. It is only in the movies, and their horses are taken care of. If they are not banned, then there needs to be strict regulations regarding the amount of hours they work, the amount of rest they need in between trips and plenty of water and grain. Also, the harnesses need to be fitted correctly and maybe more padding added. I understand the Mayor is against stopping this, I understand him wanting to keep tradition. There so many things Manhattan has to offer, do we really need to have a carriage ride at the horses' expense?
Posted By: dogzmeow @ 11/04/2007 4:23:40 PM

Comment: stop the insanity - it may have been romantic and quaint a hundred years ago and maybe even 70 yrs ago but now it is cruel.....horses are beautiful, sensitive, intelligent creatures ......no animal should be subjected to the insanity of noise, traffic, etc. like that......I will never recover from seeing the horror of 'Black Beauty'.......
Posted By: sense1 @ 11/01/2007 3:28:10 PM

Comment: for shame. not one comment...its archaic, no matter how charming...pity those horses. enuf already. get the subway.