Monday, June 7, 2010

Their day will come



Last Saturday was International Day for Horses without Carriages, a global movement to end the abusive and dangerous horse-drawn carriage industry. To mark it, vigils and demonstrations were held in Philadelphia and NYC – among many other cities -- where horse-drawn carriages are still a prominent and painful part of the cityscape.

The profit motive is everywhere.

Lee Hall, a lawyer and author* with Friends of Animals, reports that a Philadelphia carriage driver told her to stop taking pictures, shouting, "Not with my horse, you don't! Don't you exploit my horse!" (See photo with FoA member in foreground; objecting driver behind her.)

On the brighter side, visitors from the Philippines joined the Philadelphia vigil and promised to spread the word about the campaign when they returned home.

Last year, Friends of Animals sent a proposed bill to ban horse-drawn vehicles in Philadelphia to the mayor and every council member. The PA chapter of Friends of Animals is raising funds to make this issue as public as we can: Donations can be sent to Friends of Animals, 777 Post road, Darien CT 06820 with a note that they are for the carriage horse campaign in Philly. (Donations are tax-deductible; Friends of Animals is a 501 c 3.)
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* Hall’s new book, On Their Own Terms: Bringing Animal Rights Philosophy Down to Earth, is now available. Her earlier book, Capers in the Churchyard, can also be purchased at a buy-now price from Friends of Animals – www.FriendsofAnimals.org.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't get it, horse carriages are not abusive. What do you find so abusive about it? Do you (this group of people) even know about horses? Or just a "horse lover" group?

The interesting thing about the one sign is that she is using a photo of "Cloud" an "enslaved" wild horse, who indeed needs the voice of activists, perhaps this woman is barking up the wrong tree with her vigil against horse carriages? There are 30,000 mustangs waiting in holding facilities for adoption, wouldn't ending horse carriages in major cities just put more horses into that pile of 30,000+ hoping to get homes? Or is this group going to follow up & take the PA horses? Feed them & stuff?

Anonymous said...

I and my Horse are in that photo,, Lucy is a rescued horse she would be dead if she did not have this job........ Its a shame that you do not try rescueing the horses going to slaughter. If you were really friends of Animals you would help to rescue some of the 100000 horses that end up slaughtered Every Years,, those horse's slaughter are young and with good health. Please do not think this group know what they talk about. They tell lies about how are horses are taken care of.
Theses are domesticated horses who have to work to live and they live to work..

Anonymous said...

Horse need habitat... not "homes." Why do some people only think animals are relevant for our use? Let's get over ourselves, people - animals want to enjoy freedom just as we do.

Go FoA!!

Unknown said...

A note to the carriage driver here who claims ownership of Lucy:

You have stated that you rescued a horse -- a being on whose back and legs you make a buck off when you can, in the heat or cold. (It was hot indeed in Philadelphia this past Saturday.)

Moreover, you told me personally that you are going to turn Lucy over to a sanctuary; I asked you which one and you said Blue Star of Massachusetts.

I looked it up. Its website advertises "Carriage Rides For A Wedding, Romantic Picnic, Sunset Ride Around The Blue Star Equiculture Farm or at Your Location."

I hope you understand that true sanctuaries -- refuges that do not exploit horses for human profit and entertainment -- do exist. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt; but please look them up. (An example is Pennsylvania's own Chenoa Manor, a 501 c 3 charity that looks after horses and other animals for life.)

Lee Hall
Friends of Animals
Pennsylvania Chapter

Anonymous said...

"Horse need habitat... not "homes." Why do some people only think animals are relevant for our use? Let's get over ourselves, people - animals want to enjoy freedom just as we do"

So are you also a member of the Cloud Foundation? Because they are trying to keep mustangs free in the wild...domesticated horses can't just be thrown into a wilderness. They need exercise. Wild horses roam miles a day- whereas a domesticated animal generally sits idle under a tree or in a stall until it's time to eat. Ask any vet what the #1 killer of horses is & that person will not say- "carriage pulling" or "being under saddle" they will tell you that obesity and colic are the #1 killers.

The problem that I am seeing here is that these people don't know horses. If we free all of the horses they will be exterminated by our government & the BLM. FIRST- you straighten out the BLM & the government & get them to ENFORCE the Free Roaming Act of 1971! THEN when the horses can have their wildlife back- you can argue about what to do with domesticated horses....but for now?

Who do you think you are helping? Hundreds of thousands of horses are slaughtered every year. You take horses out of work, then who can afford to FEED a 1 ton animal? Yes- that horse in the photo weighs damned near a ton....eats a bale of hay a day....this horse could NOT survive on grazing- sorry.

Please- hit me with some logic & stop with your poetry about freedom- you work, right?

IrishDragon79 said...

Gee, I hope those tourists from the Philippines don't have a disastrous effect on the carriage industry. How will they ever make up the difference of a group of Asian tourists, who stand next to the carriages and take photos of each other as if they are just getting on, or just gotten off? Truly a mortal blow to the Biz.

Profits, profits, profits.... are you people for real? Show me a business that isn't trying to make a profit and I'll show you a commercial property that will soon be available.

As for the driver that "Claims ownership" of Lucy, I'm sure its much more then a claim. I bet she has the papers to prove it.
... on the backs and legs...., come now and think about this.
Lucy undoubtedly gets her cut of the days total, off the top and tax free I might add, which pays for all her needs. While Anon, gets a cut of whats left after Uncle Sam gets his. Then of course Anon has to pay for her own needs, when all is said and done Lucy ends up w/ the Lions share of the profits.

... in the heat and cold, you do know that there are temperature restrictions already in place for the horses, above 91 w/ the heat index, below 28 w/ the windchill (if I recall correctly), never mind the fact that these horses would be out "...in the heat and the cold" in the wild anyway, when its 'too hot/cold' for the horses its beyond too hot or cold for the drivers. The horses are monitored very closely when the weather gets hot/cold, and action is taken quickly. If the horse is having trouble with the heat its sent back to the barn to be cooled off, and its done for the day.

You do know what happens to retired horses, right? The same thing that happens to retired people, They Die. With out something to keep them going they eventually die. When you have a purpose in life, be it man or beast, you tend to live a bit longer to see it gets done. So an occasional spin on a carriage or a cart, or even just harnessed to a pair of wheels and ground driven in a circle for a few minutes a week is enough to keep them active and add many more golden years to their retirement.
Lucy's owner is right to send her to Blue Star for retirement, They have work horses as well as retired horses.

Its easy to call something abusive that you don't agree with, but where is the abuse? That the horses are well cared for (I wont go into details since groups like yours don't care about the details), all its needs are met, that it travels through the city at a slow pace, that pulling a carriage is so easy you or I could do it?
There is no danger in a Horse traveling in the parts of the city where they are allowed, you don't see them crossing the GWB or moseying down I-95, or in the truck lanes of the NJ turnpike. The Carriages are Slow moving vehicles and they have the orange triangle and speed to prove it.
Things can always be made better, if people are willing to make it so, but an outright ban is the wrong idea. When you remove the possibility of a middle ground you remove the chance to make a positive change.

Anonymous said...

Blue Star in Massachusetts is a RESCUE and a Sanctuary. There are many retired horses there that do not work. The horses that are young and healthy work, which keeps them healthy and helps to pay for the entire herd.

It's not like retired horses get social security. The money to feed and care for them has to come from somewhere (perhaps you would like to make a generous donation so that all of these animals can live the full retirement you envision for them?)

If you met any of the Blue Star staff (ALL VOLUNTEER, mind you) you would see that all of the money they get go directly to the horses.

Animal lovers' time is much better spent rescuing horses from slaughter than trying to fight the carriage industry which is harmless and insulting passionate rescues and sanctuaries.