In June, Romanch Mahajan, an Indian national celebrating his acceptance to college with a trip to New York, was killed after the horse hitched to the carriage where he and three other family members were seated bolted through Central Park. As the carriage heaved left and right, the 18-year-old young man tried to prevent his mother from being tossed to the ground, and in the process, he tumbled out at high speed and suffered a fatal head injury.
Just days earlier, Deniz collapsed and died after the driver allowed the 16-year-old carriage horse to graze on the poisonous leaves of a Japanese yew tree, even though city regulations forbid consumption of the plant life in Central Park.
Their deaths had very different causes, but both are tied to an industry with a long history of recklessness that no longer deserves a free run in and around the jam-packed environs of Central Park and the streets surrounding it.
Last Wednesday, on behalf of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, my colleague Dr. Jim Keen and I joined the leaders of the horse-advocacy group NYCLASS and other advocates, testifying in support of Intro. 943 to end horse-drawn carriage rides in New York City.
The proponents of the bill outnumbered the carriage drivers and their union leaders by more than five to one. We collectively made the case that horses should not be conscripted into a working environment filled with congestion, construction sites, sirens, buses, taxis, delivery trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and scooters.
Proponents of the legislation, which is led by Council Member Christopher Marte, noted that they’ve watched horses collapse in the streets as well as dash into traffic after the crash of a car or truck or the blaring of a horn puts them in flight mode. Over four decades, city legislators and administrative officials have responded by proposing half-measures, meagerly tightening unenforceable animal care standards after one downed horse after another became a casualty of this obsolete business.
Serious Reform Is Coming to New York City
Yet, even with decades of scrutiny, the situation for horses and people is more dangerous than ever. The carriage drivers have contemptuously disobeyed rules and regulations — as they did in breaking rules that led to the demise of 18-year-old Romanch and 16-year-old Deniz.
The drivers are hacks when it comes to horse care. No responsible horse person would put horses in such a minefield for them, just like no parent would let their children play in traffic. Risks abound, and it’s no wonder horses are known to go on a tear because of the sounds and sights that stir panic and flight.
The carriage drivers know the names of their horses, but they do not know them. That was evident to me as they urged lawmakers to adopt more regulations and step up enforcement rather than to ban the enterprise. But if the drivers were capable caretakers of horses, neither new regulations nor more robust enforcement would be needed. Their deflections and their blaming lawmakers and regulators are par for the course for people in over their heads on animal care.
Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy will assist with the placement of the horses if the drivers relinquish them to humane organizations. As the former CEO of a major national organization with the two largest horse sanctuaries in the nation, I can attest that the animal welfare community will have no problem placing the horses.
The network of hundreds of horse sanctuaries and rescue organizations will welcome these beleaguered animals, just as so many shelters and rescue groups were eager to help us place 2,000 beagles after we negotiated their release from Ridglan Farms.
If freed from their yokes and harnesses, the horses will be able to breathe fresh air, stand on grass and soft earth, and no longer be forced to dodge cars, trucks, pedestrians, and pedicabs. And they’ll never have to work another day in their lives.
Chicago banned horse-drawn carriages in 2020, and Philadelphia did so just recently. Those major metropolitan jurisdictions recognized that this enterprise is a relic with risks for horses and people.
New York’s Elected Leaders Are Ready to Act
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced his support for banning horse-drawn carriages, and Julie Menin, the speaker of the City Council, announced her full-throated intention to pass Intro. 943. So has the city council’s majority leader.
In fact, of the 51 lawmakers on the council, a majority of them (27 and counting) have publicly signaled their steadfast support. With thanks to each of them, I list the cosponsors.
Christopher Marte, Joann Ariola , Shahana K. Hanif, Carl Wilson , Gale A. Brewer,Tiffany L. Cabán, Harvey D. Epstein, Sandy Nurse, Phil Wong , Julie Won, Frank Morano, Jennifer Gutiérrez, Lincoln Restler, Shekar Krishnan, Shaun Abreu, Chris Banks, Chi A. Ossé, Lynn C. Schulman, Kamillah Hanks, Oswald J. Feliz, Mercedes Narcisse, Eric Dinowitz, Virginia Maloney , Nantasha M. Williams, Elsie Encarnación, and Inna Vernikov.
Justice for horses has been delayed but not denied. Justice will also be delivered for the grieving Mahajan family, perhaps by the first half of August.
But let’s not leave this matter to chance. New Yorkers should take action and urge them to end horse-carriage rides in the city.
Over the course of my adult lifetime, I’ve watched our society reject practices once defended as major features of the American experience. Dogfighting and cockfighting have retreated to the margins because citizens demanded stronger laws and better enforcement. Circus elephants have largely disappeared because the public no longer accepts entertainment purchased through suffering. Increasingly, the use of dogs, cats, primates, and other animals in laboratory experiments is giving way to superior, animal-free, and cruelty-free technologies. Kangaroo-skin shoes are now passé in the world of professional soccer, as I wrote last week, with no players from either Argentina or Spain set to lace up shoes in the World Cup final made from the skins of wild animals.
