Like yellow cabs, the Statue of Liberty or Broadway, horse-drawn carriages are New York clichés. But these sightseeing walks around Central Park are being targeted by elected officials and animal advocates who would prefer electric carts.
“Manhattan is probably the worst place in the world to work a horse, traffic, noise, pollution and heat,” protests Robert Holden, a 71-year-old New York city councilor and author of a text calling for the replacement of horse-drawn carriages. from electric vehicles by June 2024.
For years, animal rights activists – more and more in the United States – have wanted to put an end to this tourist attraction, which has existed since the 19th century around the green lung of Manhattan. New York today has 130 coachmen who share 68 licenses and around 200 horses repaired in the municipal stables.
Opponents of horse-drawn carriages rallied in early August, notably some activists from the PETA association, when a horse suddenly collapsed one heatwave afternoon on Manhattan’s immense 9th avenue, lined with skyscrapers. of heaven.
“Cruelty” and “barbarism”
A video on social media shows the animal on the ground as angry motorists told him to get up. A micro-demonstration against the “cruelty” of horse-drawn carriages then brought together 15 people. American model Bella Hadid judged these “barbaric” walks on Instagram. The fashion star urged the New York City Council to approve Mr. Holden’s bill.
For animal advocates, New York horses live in precarious conditions, suffer from malnutrition and dehydration, are terrified of car traffic and work hard.
“They are treated like machines and they are not machines,” thunders Edita Birnkrant, director of an animal rights group, NYClass, who thinks horse-drawn carriages have nothing to do in “a modern New York”.
On the contrary, the operators ensure that these horses are treated well and that their sector is closely monitored by the city health authorities. In fact, it is forbidden to work more than nine hours a day, at more than 32 degrees in summer and less than 7 degrees in winter.
Horses “are happy and healthy. You can’t force a 680kg animal to do what it doesn’t want to do, ”insists Christina Hansen, a coachman in New York for ten years and whose Oreo horse is entitled to her five-week annual farm holiday.
“Immoral” or “cultural”?
Besides, what would New York be without its horse-drawn carriages? asks this 42-year-old woman: “See you at the cinema and on TV. We are as photogenic as the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. “
In Central Park, where a 45-minute walk still costs $ 160, in one of the most expensive cities in the world, tourists are divided. “Absolutely immoral! exclaims Britain’s Cailey Tyler, who is in favor of the ban, as does Maria Luzynska, a Polish woman for whom seeing horses “in the heat” gives New York “the worst impression”. On the contrary, Argentina’s Marina Perry sees in it “a cultural dimension that has lasted for generations 7.
Coach Christina Hansen explains that the sector is now “dominated by immigrants” from around 20 countries, including Italy, Ireland, Turkey, Brazil and Mexico. A carriage driver can earn $ 100,000 a year, she says.
Opposite, supporters of Mr. Holden’s bill are hoping for a vote in October. But nothing is less certain, as the coachmen are backed by the powerful municipal transportation union and Mrs. Hansen thinks no one in New York would want to ride an “electric golf cart.”
Peter HUTCHISON and Céline GESRET / AFP
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Like yellow cabs, the Statue of Liberty or Broadway, horse-drawn carriages are New York clichés. But these sightseeing tours around Central Park are being targeted by elected officials and animal advocates who would prefer electric carts: “Manhattan is probably the worst place in the world to get a horse to work, in the …
