According to reports, Mayor Bill de Blasio, who wants to eventually adopt electric “horseless carriages” over the horse-drawn carriages, is close to introducing legislation to ban carriage horses in NYC. Capital New York reports that no licenses for horse-drawn carriages will be renewed in 2016.
Christina Hansen, spokesperson for the New York City Horse Carriage Association, isn’t happy about the proposal:
This whole thing has been about disrespect. The people that want to ban us have come to the stables, have met with us, they’ve disrespected us all the time calling us animal abusers.
Horses used to drive carriages have gotten loose in traffic, tripped on holes in the pavement, crashed into cabs, and even died in the streets.
The bill would affect 300 carriage drivers, and is expected to offer free green cab medallions to any carriage drivers who are put out of work by the legislation. If those drivers decided to take advantage of the program, it could boost New York’s green cab program, which provides taxis to the outer boroughs.
(Photo: Aymann Ismail/ANIMALNewYork)
