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PETA to Nutter & Council: ban horse-drawn carriages

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60 comments

PETA to Nutter & Council: ban horse-drawn carriages

POSTED: Wednesday, September 2, 2009, 11:37 AM

Patrick Kerkstra

PETA is calling on Mayor Nutter and City Council to ban the city's horse-drawn carriages, which are popular tourist attractions in Old City. The release follows below.

Incident Highlights the Risk to the Safety of Animals and the Public

Philadelphia — PETA has sent an urgent letter to Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and the City Council calling on them to implement a ban on horse-drawn carriages. PETA's letter comes on the heels of an August 29 incident in which a horse who was pulling a carriage suffered a leg injury after becoming spooked and crashing the carriage into a pole at the intersection of Third and Walnut streets.

PETA points out that similar incidents have occurred in nearly every city in which horse-drawn carriages are still permitted to operate. These accidents often cause serious injuries and fatalities to horses, motorists, onlookers, carriage operators, and riders. A growing number of municipalities have realized that these dangerous operations have no place in today's busy cities. Bans have been implemented in Biloxi, Miss.; Reno, Nev.; Palm Beach, Panama City, Key West, Deerfield Beach, and Pompano Beach, Fla.; Santa Fe, N.M.; and Camden, N.J., as well as London, Paris, Beijing, and Toronto.

"Forcing horses to pull heavy loads through busy city streets is cruel, and it's an accident waiting to happen," says PETA Director Debbie Leahy. "This incident should be a wake-up call to the people of Philadelphia. The only way to ensure the safety of passengers, motorists, and horses is to ban horse-drawn carriages, so we urge the mayor and the City Council to act to prevent future tragedies."

PETA's letter to Mayor Michael Nutter is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.

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Comments (60)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:51 PM, 09/02/2009

I have a better idea. Let's ban cars from the inner city. That would take care of the accidents, pollution and would force people to ride the public transportation.

— ArizonaMike

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 2:49 PM, 09/02/2009

mmmmm! hot philly horse burger! who got the bbq sauce? it will go great with some of that broiled sea kitten grabage that those peta idiots were trying to peddle last year. they are such a joke. HEY! anybody got any glue?

— Evil Overlord

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0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:11 PM, 09/02/2009

Fire Man...grow up and act like a man, you are a jack@$$...low life piece of scat

— horsegirl

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:24 PM, 09/02/2009

Let's release all these horses back into the wild so MacDonalds can hunt them.

— mythaeus

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:25 PM, 09/02/2009

Ban banning things.

— rightwingsheeple

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:37 PM, 09/02/2009

This is a joke. Has PETA seen how these horses are babied? First of all, if these tired old horses weren't pulling carriages they'd be glue. There's your alternative PETA. Second of all these horses are treated better than half the human population of Philadelphia. The "busy streets" of Society Hill? And "Heavy loads"? It's a HORSE people! We use the horse as a system of measurement - HORSE POWER - for hauling just that! Entertaining this with even proposed legislation would be a criminal waste of time.

— Philatonian

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:42 PM, 09/02/2009

My kids & I like to watch the horses pee in the street. Spectacular show.

— Big5fan

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:43 PM, 09/02/2009

Hmmmm....colonial, historic city with horse drawn carriages? What a concept. I bet horsegirls equines just LOVE to carry her dead weight around the ring! PETA, get a life! These things are what make historic places remain that way. Cobblestone streets are dangerous for vapid blondes in heels, when do we outlaw them (the cobbles)?

— offshore

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:46 PM, 09/02/2009

sorry, no resources or funding to enact bans (especially stupid ones); budget cuts!

— offshore

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0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:21 PM, 09/02/2009

PETA should get off their high horse and worry about something else. They had their 15 minutes of fame at Vick's expense. Now go back to your closets.

— SayHello2MyLittleFriend