Bret Hartman/CBSPink, an animal rights activist who is a long-time supporter of the movement to get horse-drawn carriages removed from the streets of New York City, has thrown her support behind a plan by the city’s new mayor to do just that. She’s even willing to adopt one of the horses if it ends up losing its job.
In a letter posted on PETA’s website, Pink praises New York mayor
Bill de Blasio for his plan to phase out “inhumane” horse carriages and replace them with vintage cars fitted with electric motors. Pink says the plan will “provide solid jobs for the current carriage drivers and loving homes for the horses.” She also suggests that fans tweet the mayor with a message of thanks.
“When they are finally freed, I will be among the first to adopt one of these horses so that he or she can live as nature intended,” Pink writes, perhaps to head off possible criticism of what will happen to the horses should the plan be enacted.
As for why this cause is so important to her, Pink explains that she grew up caring for horses at her aunt’s farm in North Carolina. “I learned that horses are very social herd animals who, by nature, spend their days grazing, playing, and running together,” she writes. “Sadly, the 220 horses in New York City in the carriage industry endure a miserable, solitary life, forced to navigate through midtown traffic in all weather extremes pulling heavy loads of tourists.”
“Watching a horse gallop across a field is one of the most calming sights imaginable,” she adds. “Watching a horse dodge traffic — nose to tailpipe and spooked by horns, sirens, and pounding music — is one of the most upsetting.”
Not every celebrity is in favor of horse-drawn carriages vanishing from the streets of New York. Actor
Liam Neeson has been
quite outspoken in his desire to retain them, both as a “connection to with our past,” and because the end of the industry would mean people would lose their jobs. He maintains that the horses are well-cared for, and has invited de Blasio to visit the horse stables to see for himself.
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