Ryder’s Legislation, a vital invoice that will have lastly begun phasing out New York Metropolis’s infamous horse-drawn carriage business, will sadly not transfer ahead. On Friday morning, the New York Metropolis Council Committee on Well being voted down the invoice, regardless of overwhelming public assist. Polls have constantly proven that almost 80% of New Yorkers need to ban horse carriages fully, but their voices have been ignored to maintain an business that constantly places horses in danger.
The invoice was named after Ryder, the abused, aged horse who collapsed in Hell’s Kitchen in 2022 and later died after surprising neglect. His story sparked world outrage, however even his tragic loss of life was not sufficient to maneuver metropolis leaders towards compassion.
Intro 967 would have halted new carriage licenses, protected horses from being shipped to slaughter, and created a workforce improvement program to assist drivers transition into various employment. The invoice even provided a humane path ahead with electrical carriages, an answer that preserved jobs whereas ending cruelty. However carriage homeowners refused to think about it, blocking the very compromise that would have modernized the business with out sacrificing animals.
As a substitute, the horses stay trapped in an outdated and harmful system. Day after day, they’re pressured to haul heavy carriages by way of excessive warmth waves, blizzards, and chaotic visitors, solely to return to darkish, cramped stalls hidden inside non-public Manhattan stables. These services, together with the one the place Ryder lived, have repeatedly been uncovered for conserving skinny, overworked horses in filthy, restrictive, and inhumane situations.
“Our dedication to the horses and all animals stays unwavering. Our objective is to work collaboratively with metropolis leaders, union representatives, advocates, and neighborhood members to advance considerate options that defend horses and assist staff by way of a good and simply transition,” shared Voters for Animal Rights on social media. “Ryder’s story made clear that the present system should evolve. Horses deserve higher than being labored to exhaustion in excessive climate, visitors, and noise. Compassion will in the end prevail – and we can be right here till it does.”
Final yr, WAN traveled to New York Metropolis to fulfill with NYCLASS and witnessed these harsh realities firsthand. Wedged between dense Midtown buildings, the stables provided no pasture, no contemporary air, and no actual relaxation, solely the fixed noise, confinement, and stress of metropolis life.
Simply final month, Woman, a 15-year-old carriage horse, collapsed and died in Hell’s Kitchen whereas returning to her secure. Footage shared by Voters For Animal Rights captured her remaining moments, one other gut-wrenching reminder of the devastating value of inaction.
“For 3 years, New York Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Well being Committee Chair Lynn Schulman have blocked any public listening to on Ryder’s Legislation — regardless of a super-majority of polled New Yorkers supporting the invoice, greater than 20 cosponsors, sturdy backing from equine consultants, and even the Central Park Conservancy urging quick motion,” shared NYCLASS on twitter. “Immediately’s sham assembly solely occurred as a result of Council Member Robert Holden had to make use of a not often invoked rule to drive the committee to convene after the invoice had been intentionally stalled. His motion uncovered this corrupt state of affairs absolutely and unmistakably to the general public.”
“Our resolve is unbreakable. NYCLASS will proceed preventing — relentlessly and unapologetically — till the cruelty ends, and New York Metropolis lastly joins the numerous cities worldwide which have already moved past horse-drawn carriages,” stated NYCLASS.
What number of extra horses should collapse, undergo, or die earlier than New York Metropolis ends this merciless, outdated business? What number of tragedies should be filmed, shared, and mourned earlier than leaders hear not solely to advocates however to the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers who’re demanding change?
With Ryder’s Legislation defeated, extra horses will now be pressured to endure neglect, exploitation, and preventable struggling. We won’t cease till horse-drawn carriages are utterly banned in New York Metropolis.
