Like yellow cabs, the Statue of Liberty, or Broadway, horse-drawn carriages are New York City clichés. But these tourist walks around Central Park are in the sights of elected officials and animal advocates.
Published: September 19, 2022 at 11:53 pm
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“Manhattan is probably the worst place on the planet to work a horse, traffic, noise, pollution and heat”protests Robert Holden, a 71-year-old New York City advisor and writer of a text that would require the replacement of horse-drawn carriages with electric vehicles by June 2024. For years, animal rights activists (increasingly 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.
Opponents of horse-drawn carriages mobilized at the beginning of August, in particular some activists from the Peta association, when a horse suddenly collapsed on a scorching afternoon on the sidewalk of Manhattan’s sprawling 9th Avenue, lined with skyscrapers. A video on social media shows the animal on the ground as angry drivers tell it to get up.
A micro-demonstration against the “cruelty” horse-drawn carriages then gathered fifteen people. American model Bella Hadid judged on Instagram that these walks were part of the “barbarism”. The fashion star has urged the New York City Council to pass Robert 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.
A horse-drawn carriage driver can earn $ 100,000 annually
“They are treated like machines and they are not machines”thunders Edita Birnkrant, director of an animal rights group. On the contrary, operators ensure that these equines 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 “I am happy and healthy. You can’t force a 1,500-pound animal (680 kg) to do what he does not want “insists Christina Hansen, a coachman in New York for ten years and whose horse Oreo is entitled to five weeks of “vacation” annually in the countryside.
Powerful trade union support
And then what would New York be without its horse-drawn carriagesasks this 42-year-old woman: “You see us in movies and on TV. We are as photogenic as the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. “
Coachwoman Christina Hansen explains that the industry is now “dominated by immigrants” from about twenty countries such as 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.
The text is expected to garner 26 out of 51 votes and the last word will go to New York Mayor Eric Adams. A ban is far from certain as the coachmen are backed by the powerful city transit union and Ms. Hansen thinks no one in New York is in the mood for a ride. “With electric golf cart”.
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