Watch CBS News

Animal Welfare Group Drops Push For NYC Carriage Horse Ban

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- An animal welfare group that helped make carriage horses a focus of New York City's 2013 mayoral election says it has given up on efforts to get the practice banned.

Leaders of NYCLASS said they'll focus on other changes.

"We think there are things that we can do that New Yorkers across the city agree with and will agree with and we think by talking about reasonable issues where we can compromise and do it in a friendly and civil way we can have a real debate and hopefully make the lives better for hundreds of horses," NYCLASS Campaign Manager Chris Coffey told 1010 WINS.

NYCLASS still hopes to end carriage rides through Times Square and limit them to Central Park.

"We would like to see the horses move to Central Park," Coffey said. "We don't think horses belong in the year 2017 in Midtown or Times Square. It is dangerous, it's loud, it's hot, it's bustling. Horses scare easily. The horns are terrible. Central Park gets us away from the traffic. It's a lot shadier."

NYCLASS  also wants to get the horses bigger stalls, change how they get their shoes and guarantee that retired carriage horses are never slaughtered.

The group is no longer calling for existing stables on the west side of Manhattan to be moved inside Central Park to keep the horses off the streets.

That was one of the many sticking points that led to the collapse of a 2016 compromise attempt.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.