As we prepare to celebrate the Holidays with family and friends, NYCLASS and Kathy Najimy are asking you to please take a moment to lend your voice for New York City’s carriage horses.
For years, NYCLASS has been fighting to help the horses working in the carriage industry, and with your support we hope to make 2017 a year of meaningful change.
We have proposed legislation that will include several measures to improve the well-being, safety, and welfare for the carriage horses. The New York City Council only has three meetings left this year, and we MUST persuade Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to bring our bill to a vote!
CALL SPEAKER MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO AT 212-788-7210 AND URGE HER TO BRING THE NYCLASS BILL TO A VOTE!
NYCLASS has introduced an entirely new bill into the City Council. (A heavily amended version of 573). These are just some details of what the bill would do to greatly improve the lives and welfare of over 200 carriage horses:
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Changing the current law to prevent carriage horses from being sent to slaughter
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Mandatory retirement at a sanctuary for carriage horses, comparable to the horses of the NYPD Mounted Unit.
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Prohibiting hoses from working in Times Square or other chaotic areas of midtown
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Only allowing carriage rides within Central Park and moving the hackline inside the park
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Increasing stall sizes
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Requiring daily time and space for horses to roam freely, exercise and socialize.
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Improving vet and farrier care for the horses
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Lowering the mandatory retirement age for carriage horses from 26 to 20 years of age
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Establishing an office of Animal Protection to better develop, implement and enforce policies and laws for the protection of the carriage horses.
*Note: The amended legislation currently proposed by NYCLASS does not include a new stable build-out in Central Park, does not involve the Pedicabs in any way, and does not mandate the elimination of any jobs. Once passed, this bill would provide the most dramatic reforms in favor of the horses in the history of the industry.