Day for the Animals

First off, I'd like to say that I support the efforts to stop animal abuse. But you are lumping all carriage companies into one category. First and foremost you need to do more research than personal feelings as well as animal activist websites. Horses in America, especially the large draft horses that work in old city, are being shipped out of America everyday and sent to slaughter in Canada as well as Mexico. These horses are worth more by the pound for their meat then they are at a pleasure sanctuary. The cost of keeping one draft horse is about 6,000 dollars a year not including medical care. Also you must understand the history of these animals, they were bred by MAN to pull heavy plows. The carriages that they pull in Old city are under 900 pounds, the typical plow can be and is usually three times that weight. The horses are bred to work. If they do not work then they will get sick and surely die. Also where are these proposed horse sanctuaries? There aren't enough of them with the space to take care of these animals. Before you protest all these companies, you should research each one individually. You should see which ones are actually giving these animals a good home and proper care. Horses that have been raised in captivity CANNOT be released into the wild or they will die shortly after. Plus there isn't enough room in America for wild horses as large as the draft variety. Instead of protesting Carriages, maybe you should open a sanctuary for these horses, then you can say you have a place to house them yourself. But just saying they should be released into a sanctuary shows, and pardon this, a great deal of ignorance on your part. Get your facts straight, buy a draft horse, and then speak on something you have experience with.

As for the traffic issues. If Philadelphia drivers would obey the speed limit and be patient there shouldn't ever be an issue. Also, Philly is the only major city with carriages that has never experienced a HUGE accident due to carriages. Philly also has the lowest accident rate for carriages in the country. And let me put this in perspective for you, there are car accidents in the city everyday. Should we ban cars? No. There is maybe one carriage accident every year. MAYBE one. Lastly, we walk the horses in the city. Go to NY and watch them trot them quickly through the streets. That is when accidents happen. And as for the fear factor, when you were a kid and you saw a car zoom past you, you were innately scared. But you were taught that they weren't anything to fear, so now you aren't. No different than horses. I recently got a new puppy who trembled when walking in Philly because of the traffic and loud noises. And now he is fine. Am I cruel to my dog for having him walk in the city to get over his fears? Research and common sense would put many of these issues to rest.

These creatures were not born to be slaves of humans. Free them.

Friends of Animals has proposed legislation to the city that accounts for what will happen to both the horses AND the drivers after a ban. It specifies the kinds of sanctuaries OR private owners that could take care of the horses. Horses were not 'bred' for mankind. Anyone who believes that should step back from the false high perch humans have placed themselves on and try to respect the natural environment and ecology of the world.

Again do research, even on your yuppie artsy wikipedia. Research where draft horses came from, they were NEVER found in the wild. MAN bred different breeds to achieve the draft even from a now extinct form of the horse from Europe(the forest horse). They are not slaves read the first post, please. They must work. These horses even work at horse sanctuaries. Or at least the good sanctuaries. I would make a 1,000 dollar bet: If any of you can send a horse to one of these "sanctuaries" and go there a year later and find the horse you sent there. 1 grand in your pocket. But you wont. Again none of you have done research on what the first post said, you are only putting personal feelings out there. Your proposal means nothing if you have not met the owners or seen a horse at the place you are talking about for more than a year. Good luck with your personal feelings protest. And again until you give one of these horses a home, simmer down.

This message is for carriage driver #1 and #2 above. You say that you support efforts to stop animal abuse, but what about exploitation? To clarify for you, exploitation involves using another individual for selfish purposes, such as profit or entertainment. The carriage companies (yours included) should all be lumped into one category because they all exploit their horses. I'm not surprised that you know how much horse flesh is worth to the slaughterhouses, but the point is that we are talking about a life here. A living, feeling animal that can feel pain and happiness and a desire to live. They deserve to be put on sanctuaries (of which there are plenty) to live out the rest of their lives without pulling around carriages so that you can make a living. Just because some horses may have been bred by humans to pull plows in the past, doesnt mean that we should continue our mistakes or that draft horses "NEED to work." If you did your research (or applied common sense) you would know that draft horses can get all the exercise that they need running and playing on a sanctuary - free from abuse and exploitation. No - they won't "get sick and surely die" if they cant pull your carriage anymore. You may have to get a job in the real world, though. There is no need to research each carriage company individually because none of them give a proper home or proper care as they force their horses to pull 2000 pound carriages in olde city for 9 hours per day. If your carriage weighs 900 pounds, what happens when you add 6 people who weigh between 100-250 pounds each? Do the math. Again, if you did your research (or just applied common sense), you would know that no one is proposing that the horses be released into the wild. The proposal is that they be put on sanctuaries to get some of the freedoms that they never had pulling your carriage so that you can earn a living. Your analogy about banning cars because of accidents is nonsensical. Cars are a necessary means of transportation in the 21st century. Carriage horses are not. Cars do not exploit innocent beings for profit and entertainment. Carriage horse companies do. Your analogy about "your new puppy" is, similarly, nonsensical. By helping your puppy get over his fears of noise, you are allowing him to get much-needed exercise and socialization. Carriage horses do not need to pull 2000 pound carriages, nose to tail-pipe in center city. It's not necessary for their health (as it is for your puppy to learn to walk in order to get exercise). Carriage horses in the city are unnatural, unnecessary and a blight on the Philadelphia's image.