Carolers are a charming tradition every year around the holidays. What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight! Unfortunately it isn't so fun for those who painstakingly pull jolly carolers through the snow. Not this time!
Horse Drawn Carriages are cruel.
I'd like to inspire artists to rally up their vocal chords. New York City, it's about time you sing a different tune. We've invited talented writers to put new words to familiar jingles. We provide the words and you make the music. Try to sway as many riders as you can to use Pedicabs instead of Horse Drawn Carriages. We will provide literature to pass out and songbooks for you to sing from. Simply wear over the top holiday outfits and show up! What do you say?
Thursday, December 23 7:00pm- 9:00pm
Meet at the central fountain area of Columbus Circle!
According to the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, carriage horses in New York City work 9 hours a day, 7 days a week, sometimes in bitter cold and oppressive heat. Around the country, horses pull carriages through traffic on pavement and sometimes cobblestone, which is hard on their joints. The horses also constantly breathe in car exhaust which leads to respiratory problems. Collisions between horses and vehicles are a threat to both people and horses.
Although there are laws to protect the horses, enforcement is not perfect. In December of 2008, activists recorded video of horses being forced to work through a snowstorm in New York City, despite a law that prohibits working the horses during “adverse weather conditions.” The law required the horses to be recalled if the weather turned bad, but it took nearly two hours to recall the horses after the snowstorm started and authorities did not have the power to recall the horses any earlier.
When not working, the horses are confined in tiny stalls in indoor stables with substandard conditions, such as a lack of water, bedding, air conditioning and fire sprinklers. Some horses are tethered, and are unable to turn around in their stalls, which frustrates their nature as highly social herd animals.
HDC Flash Carolers is collaboration between http://www.ourhenhouse.org/ & www.EnforcedArch.com!