A couple celebrating their wedding anniversary in New Bern, North Carolina, got stuck with the memory of a lifetime when the horse-drawn carriage in which they were riding was struck by a car, sending them and the carriage driver to the hospital. (Needless to say: open carriage, no seat belts, no air bags.) The horse, Suzi, was also injured.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cipherswarm/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Horses like Suzi have a bad life, trying to dodge traffic—but traffic doesn't always dodge them. This couple may now have a cautionary tale to tell their grandkids, but for Suzi and other horses who are forced to bear the weight of carriages and tourists in traffic day and night in all weather extremes, carriage rides are a hard trip down memory lane. New Bern needs to join cities around the world that have put these rides out to pasture for good.

Send a polite note to New Bern Mayor Lee Bettis Jr. asking him to ban horse-drawn carriages.

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

We're saddened to report that a dear friend to both animals and PETA, Cynthia Long, recently passed away after what appears to have been a terrible, tragic accident.

Cynthia and her lifelong friend were returning from a gardening class when they drove past a cat who was stuck on a median, too frightened to cross in front of traffic. Knowing that the cat desperately needed help, they exited the interstate and turned the car around. Cynthia emerged from the car but as she tried to cross the passing lane, she was struck by another motorist. She died at the scene and investigators believe that both the glare from the setting sun and a bend in the road impaired the other driver's ability to see Cynthia until it was too late.

State Trooper Kurt Wagenbach told the Brattleboro Reformer "She was trying to do something out of the goodness of her heart, and it had tragic consequences." Another officer noted that, although the police have received calls about the cat, the animal has not yet been found.

Our deepest condolences go out to Cynthia's family and friends, and for her unwavering determination to help animals, we're honoring her posthumously with PETA's Compassionate Citizen Award. We're also adding a leaf in her name to our "Tree of Life", believing that her commitment to animal protection will inspire other people to always take action to help them, too.

Written by Karin Bennett

Earlier today on the streets of New York City, a taxi lost control and crashed into a horse-drawn carriage. The carriage driver was tossed out of the carriage, landed in the street, and was eventually taken to the hospital with the taxi driver. The horse bolted from the scene.

Donny Moss, the director of Blinders, was able to get footage of the accident's aftermath.

This is not the first time that a car and a carriage have collided on the streets of New York City, and unless officials in New York ban horse-drawn carriages for good, you can bet that it won’t be the last.

Please, take a moment and send a polite message to New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg letting him know that he should follow the lead of cities such as London, Paris, and Beijing and ban carriages from his city’s streets. Please do it before someone else gets hurt.

Written by Shawna Flavell

OK, so it’s no secret how I feel about hunting.

But I just couldn’t resist this one. It seems that from the start, hunters have had trouble not shooting each other with their weapons . . . could it be that this was the world’s first hunting accident?