Turns out the horses in the horse drawn carriages are abused, beat, whipped, forced to work long hard hours carrying fat assholes around and withstand all kinds of other terrible torture. I'm a long-time vegetarian and animal lover, so I was delighted to offer my pervy song singing skills when comedian Fiona Walsh invited myself along with a gang of other comedians to perform at Broadway Comedy Club on Dec. 4th to benefit BANHDC.org (ban horse drawn carriages) and raise some money for a worthy cause.
Just a few reasons to ban horse drawn, or "hansom" carriages, from BANHDC.org:
"The average working life of a carriage horse on NYC streets is under four years compared to a police horse whose working life is about 14 years."
"Carriage horses are out of place in midtown’s congested streets and belong to another century when there were far fewer vehicles and pedestrians...Over the years, there have been many accidents where both horses and people have been seriously injured and some in which horses have died."
"Horses must work in hot humid temperatures and in the brutal cold – nine hours a day, seven days a week and go back to stuffy stable...It is not unusual to see urine and feces stains on the horses...many of the horses come into this industry with preexisting injuries or arthritis and are forced to pull carriages containing heavy tourists – upwards of 7-800 pounds. When these horses are no longer fit to work the demanding streets of NYC, they are “retired” – many go to auction where their fate is unknown. “Killer Buyers” often buy these horses by the pound for the slaughterhouse. Horsemeat is a delicacy in some European countries."
"The ASPCA has 21 agents but they are obligated to work on cruelty issues all over the city and sometimes the state of NY...There are 68 carriages, over 200 horses and 360 drivers. There would never be enough agents to ensure that the drivers are obeying the law"
"This form of “entertainment” is exploitative and is comparable to animal circuses and roadside zoos. In the United States, over the years other immoral institutions have ended regardless of the economic impact to the industries involved. These include the use of child labor and sweat shops."
"Besides the humane issue that compel many people to object to the carriage horse trade, there is also the pervasive smell of horse feces and urine that permeates Central Park South. Even when the horses are not on the hack line at CPS, the unpleasant smell is always there. In addition, the Sanitation Department has to clean the feces from the street. People who live on Central Park South have complained about this smell for years. Those who object cannot open their windows in nice weather. In one community close to the stable on 45th St., public school children complained of health problems."
"It is not correct to assume that every out-of-towner wants to take a carriage horse ride. Many do not and avoid the area of Central Park South because the site of the horses is so painful...NYC and Company is the official tourism web site of NYC. Yet there is no mention of the carriage horse trade as being a big tourist attraction on its web site. Instead it mentions, sports events, shopping, restaurants, museums and galleries, historical attractions; Broadway; nightlife and entertainment; sightseeing tours."
Here is some more information about the ills of Horse Drawn Carriages
Please come and support this show. If you can't attend, please purchase an animal lover or enthusiast a ticket to the show, or make a donation to banhdc.org. Many celebrities and people you know are avid animal lovers and hate to see this treatment of animals. Join the growing number of people who don't want to see torture any more to animals or humans during our or any one else's lifetime.
SHOW and TICKET INFO:
December 4th @ 6.30pm
Benefit for www.banhdc.org
Broadway Comedy Club
318 West 53rd Street
$22/2 drink minimum
You can buy tickets in advance by calling: 1.212.757.2323
Fun fact: James Brown's coffin was driven through Times Square in a horse drawn carriage. Weird!
No comments:
Post a Comment