With all of the technology available (ever hear of a Prius or better yet THE SUBWAY?) using animals to "save the environment" is ridiculous! What about the land used to grow the grain for the horses to eat? Let me guess - you're a meat eating "environmentalist"... I expect more from Green Daily.

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I can't say that I know much about New York City, but I know that in other cities that have carriage rides, they generally take the animals out to a nice bit of farm for them to graze, rest, etc. The last right we went on in New Orleans was pulled by a couple of donkeys that the driver personally cared for at a small, company owned stable. He was very close to them and they appeared to be as "happy" as any donkey I have seen on any farm. You have to remember that these animals are the lively-hood of the drivers and it is always in their best interest to take good care of them.

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For the people who know nothing about our horses, how they live or how many regulations we have: We have NEVER been cited for cruelty in over 150 yrs. We have 5 stables, 2 of which are state of the art. We make approx 60,000 trips to and from the park (68 carriages with 2 shifts per carriage per day) per year with an overal safety record that the horse racing industry or jumping horses, or any other equine sport can not touch! All of our horses in nyc have box stalls. (which the mounted police horses dont even have)They get ferrier care, worming, and dental and vet care on a schedualed basis...which is all recorded for the city. We are overseen by 5 agencies (we have more regulations and oversight than at-risk children). We have temp restrictions(low 18-high 89), and hr work restrictions (9hrs)which are overseen by the aspca. We send our horses to vacations on farms 3-4 months out of each yr. When our horses are retired they are adopted out through one of 3 adoption programs we use-one is on the homepage of the new york humane society. We are licensed 4 times over (carriage, driver, horse,and stable) We are fully insured. Our horses were trained specifically for this job... PETA is really good at lying to people. their intentions are evil. They want to do away with all human to animal relationships. ALL of them including pets. Its disgusting. If you want the TRUTH you can see my videos on youtube of my horses on my farm and in their stable in nyc and at work. This is the TRUTH. I can prove everything I say....they cant! Please take a look before you believe everything they say.
http://www.youtube.com/user/StopLiesSeeTruth

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Nutty nutty nutty. The whole protect the animals thing backfires when people have no animals around them. Like the zoo, people would soon forget about the plight of wild animals if their zoo-kept counterparts were not available to keep them in the public eye/interest. The horses in New York have a dogs life, they are fed and well cared for. In which history of man is it a bad idea to use horses as a mode of transportation? Where are the statistics that show a shorter lifespan or greater increase in the injury of horses drawing carriges compared with horses standing in a field? Not all of us want to sterilize our existence, nor, being animal lovers as well, do we feel that they are being abused simply by being in human company. I really don't believe that mankind as a rule abuses the animals in their care, people in charge of their care are generally attached emotionally to the animals around them, and advocate for their humane treatment. Almost all kept animals have veterinary doctors looking after them, the argument against keeping animals is largely false with some exceptions.

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