Protest Lodged Against Carriage Horse Industry After Disturbing Central Park Video Emerges
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A disturbing video is raising new concerns about horse carriages in the city.
It shows a horse collapsing in Central Park before it was eventually euthanized, CBS2's Lisa Rozner reported Sunday.
The incident happened Saturday afternoon. The footage was taken by a pedicab driver, according to the executive director of the animal advocacy group NYCLASS, which stands for New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets.
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It's unclear what happened to the horse, or what kind of medical treatment the animal received.
"The video of a horse collapsing and dying in Central Park yesterday is painful and says so much about a persistent problem," post Mayor Bill de Blasio to Twitter on Sunday. "We've made real progress in animal welfare but we must go further. The NYPD's Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad is on the case and WILL get answers."
A demonstration at the Clinton Park Stables on West 52nd Street was lead by NYCLASS. The group wants the mayor to ban the rides in light of what happened Saturday.
"We have a 17-minute video capturing what we consider to be animal abuse," NYCLASS executive director Edita Birnkrant said. "There was not a single veterinarian there was punching, blowing smoke in the face, pulling the tail. Doing everything they could to get that horse in the trailer because they don't want people to see a horse being brutalized that way."
But Christina Hansen, a spokesperson for the NYC Carriage Industry, said that's not true. She said the 12-year-old horse named "Aisha" worked one ride around Central Park and then while waiting on Seventh Avenue for the next customer her driver noticed an issue with her leg.
"They unhooked her as fast as they could. They called the vet. They called the trailer over here. This had nothing to do with her being a carriage horse. This had nothing to do with her working. She did spend some time on the Seventh Avenue hill there, but sometimes horses just have medical emergencies," Hansen said.
Hansen went on to explain that if horses can't stand they will not get circulation, and that is ultimately why the owner decided to euthanize the horse, Rozner reported.
Hansen said she believes the horse may have suffered cardiac arrest.
NYCLASS is calling for a new policy that would require horse carriages to equip themselves with dash cams, to monitor the welfare of the horses. The Carriage Industry says it's unnecessary, and that horses at the stables get high-quality treatment.
