A carriage horse at New York’s Central Park slammed into a tree and died Friday, Sept. 14, causing animal-rights activists to renew their campaign to eliminate the presence of horses in frenetic New York City streets.

The 13-year-old female carriage horse named Smoothie had been startled by a street performer pounding away on a drum. It galloped nearly a block before it bolted into the tree. Another horse was spooked when people crowded around Smoothie. The second horse, still attached to its carriage, ran into the busy street. The buggy hit a car. Luckily, this horse was unhurt although both buggy and car had minor damage.

There have been numerous accidents involving carriages and vehicles; horses have died in some of them. Before Friday’s accident, there were collisions in June and July, where horses were injured.

Animal-rights activists have tried a long time to have horses banned from city streets. But the horse carriage rides are an old tradition and an iconic tourist attraction. The reality, according to activists, is that the horses are housed in decrepit, cramped and noisy stables and are exposed to the dangers of heavy traffic.

The NYC Comptroller’s office last week released an audit report that confirmed the activists’ complaints. The office found that horses are not given sufficient water or shade, and that the City departments of Health and Mental Hygiene and of Consumer Affairs have been deficient in their oversight functions on the carriage-horse industry.

The Comptroller’s audit analyzed the adequacy of controls over carriage-horse industry licensing. The City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) handle overseeing and licensing of horses, carriage drivers, carriages and stables.

The audit findings include:

• Failure by DOHMH to create an Advisory Board required by the City, which would set rules regulating the industry, including age limits for horses, and sizes of horse stalls.

• No written guidelines on when and how often stables should be inspected. The agency’s veterinarian visited stables only five times in 2006 and there were no examinations done on horses in the field.

• The agencies did not perform their regulatory responsibilities. They depended on volunteer efforts from the ASPCA to perform the monitoring functions on the stables, horses, drivers and carriages in the field. The agencies have not drawn up any formal agreement covering ASPCA’s voluntary efforts.

• Various lapses in the licensing process, including issuance of certificates of health on horses.

Activists said the audit report confirms their position: that the industry cannot operate humanely in NYC. Drivers continue to disobey the law yet there is no agency that stops them. They repeated their demands for the ban, on the grounds that it is inhumane to the horses, and is a safety and traffic issue for humans.

The Comptroller said the carriage-horse industry is an important element in the City’s charm and appeal.

Add to: del.icio.us | Digg