The so-called Animal Rights Activists led the initial charge to ban the horse-drawn carriage industry in NYC. They cited such things as pollution and the danger of walking in traffic (in spite of the majority of tourist rides being through Central Park.)
One such group stated, “It’s inhumanity of horses working in dangerous midtown traffic. Horses are easily spooked, and forcing them to work in loud, congested Lincoln Tunnel traffic is cruel and unsafe.”
So I wondered....if it is so unsafe and unhealthy for a horse pulling a carriage, perhaps the city should also ban parents and nannies pushing babies in baby carriages and strollers? Babies are constantly awakened and "spooked" by the sirens of police, ambulances and fire trucks. Not to mention gun shots. And traffic and crime...? Well, I'm guessing more kids have been injured or killed on the streets of NYC than have carriage hoses.
The facts confirmed my guess. The FACTS indicate that this particular "job" is among the SAFEST of all activities for horses....even those running free on the range. The following is a comment from a reader of "The Cavalry Group," a group of animal lovers in favor of protecting their rights to own animals.
Thanks to actor Liam Neeson (and, now, talk show host Jimmy Fallon), it has been exposed that the real reason has nothing to do with Animal Rights, but more to do with Real Estate and greed (and maybe a much needed tax revenue increase from the more expensive use of the Real Estate in question). But the hypocracy has bothered me. I'm guessing the Real Estate moguls hired some animal rights extremists to distract people from the real issue -- the Carriage Horse stable occupies desirable Real Estate.
I encourage you to read the interview with Liam Neeson in IRISH CENTRAL. Click HERE for the full story. Here's an excerpt:
"Liam Neeson has blasted New York Mayor de Blasio for failing to accept his invitation to attend a tour of the stables that house Central Park carriage horses on Sunday.
The Irish actor, currently number one at the box office with "Non Stop," hosted 12 members of the City Council on the tour as he fights for the survival of the iconic Central Park horse drawn carriages. Over 300 face the loss of their jobs.
...De Blasio wants the horses off the streets but workers, most of whom are Irish-born, say the horses are not abused and they face the unemployment line.
They claim lucrative real estate interests are really behind the move to get the horses out of the stables in prime locations.
...Neeson had invited all 51 council members to the Clinton Park Stables on W. 52nd St. where 78 carriage horses bed down.
He wanted to show that the horses are treated humanely in a bid to derail the mayor’s planned ban on the industry.
“I’ve been walking in the streets of Central Park for a few hours, five days a week, for 20 years,” Neeson said.
“I know some of the drivers, and I’ve seen the joy these tourists get. We can’t put a dollar amount on what that does for the tourist industry.”
...He said, “The mayor wants to replace them with electric cars. That’s exactly what New York needs, more cars. This experiment has been tried with electric cars in San Francisco – failed abysmally.”
Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Queens) is backing the drivers. He said, “I’m a progressive, so I’m not looking to put 350 families out on the street.”
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