The Issue: Whether the city should ban the carriage-horse industry for humane reasons.
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Should we let these poor creatures suffer miserable lives for tourism (“It Behooves City To Keep Horses: Mike,” Oct. 27)?
Perhaps the horses would be better off dead.
For Mayor Bloomberg to ignore animal and human safety, all for his love for tourist dollars, is unconscionable.
S. Leelike
Manhattan
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In 35 years of living on Central Park, I have never seen an inspector or law enforcer involved with the horses.
I see the same horses cough, limp, panic, bolt and fall. I even saw one electrocuted on a manhole cover years ago.
Is this OK because we want tourism?
The things Bloomberg says about carriage horses are indefensibly ignorant.
The horses don’t belong here. It’s an unnatural, dangerous and pitiable situation for them and for us.
Andrea Basile
Manhattan
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The ASPCA believes that carriage horses were never meant to live and work in today’s urban setting.
New York City has largely abdicated its responsibility to enforce the laws governing the carriage-horse industry, so the ASPCA has stepped up on behalf of the horses.
But the ASPCA can enforce the laws only as written, which does not mean the horses are always “well taken care of,” as Bloomberg recently stated.
We support legislation that would phase out horse-drawn carriages, replacing them with electric-powered classic cars. Carriage-horse workers could then provide their horses with a better quality of life.
Stacy Wolf
Vice President, HLE
ASPCA
Manhattan