Pink Pipes Up for NYC Carriage Horses January 17, 2008

Posted by Patricia at January 17, 2008 2:51 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 7 ) | TrackBack

You may recall that our dear friend Pink launched a billboard in Times Square earlier this month asking New York City residents and visitors to say no to horse-drawn carriage rides. It's kinda like the old "Say NO to drugs" campaign, except that people may actually say no to horse-drawn carriage rides—when they learn about the cruelty involved.

After seeing carriage horses inhaling exhaust, which veterinarians have shown causes them to develop lung disease of the sort that heavy smokers can expect (And when's the last time you saw a horse smoking?!), and dodging traffic on crowded, noisy NYC streets, Pink jumped at the chance to spread the word about what these animals endure in the name of entertainment. Actually, she already does it on her own, but this new campaign is, shall we say, a bit more official.

Never one to hold her tongue (just one of the many reasons we love her), Pink makes sure everyone knows exactly what she thinks of carriage rides. "Every time I see a horse-drawn carriage in a concrete jungle, I point and yell 'ANIMAL CRUELTY' at the top of my lungs to try to make the driver and occupants as uncomfortable as possible. And I'm blessed with an unusually loud vocal box," she says.

"It honestly hurts my heart when I think of what those horses must be feeling, as far as anxiety and fear, and how unnatural and wrong it is for these animals to have blinders on, trodding up and down on concrete, while taxis blare and people scream. It's absolutely unnatural and ignorant of us to continue this outdated tradition. What about this is romantic?" Our thoughts exactly!

This week, Pink's been visiting the Big Apple to further champion the plight of carriage horses. Yesterday she held a press conference to point out the many problems and cruelties inherent in the carriage horse industry. She also posed for photos in front of her billboard with New York City Council Member Tony Avella, who introduced legislation to ban horse-drawn carriages in the city. Pink even took her message to late night TV and educated Conan O'Brien's viewers last night.

Now it's your turn: Just say "No" to horse-drawn carriages. Join Pink and Council Member Avella in the fight to ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC by signing this petition to Mayor Bloomberg today.

xox

Patricia