In a sign of the success of the animal rights movement, candidates running for mayor of New York City gathered for a forum on May 6 with an exclusive focus on how much they care about the nonhuman residents of the Big Apple.

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The forum was organized by NYCLASS (New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets), a group that PETA works with, especially on our campaign to get horses forced to pull carriages off the streets of New York City. While the mayoral hopefuls drew attention to their vegetarian children and rescued animals, attendees made sure that the candidates understood that the cruel horse-drawn carriage trade is a key issue.

When PETA was founded in 1980, animal rights was all but absent from social and political agendas. Now, as Bob Dylan famously noted, "The times they are a-changin'." And as this event showed, they're changing in animals' favor!

How You Can Help

Please join PETA, NYCLASS, Lea Michele, Pink, Adrien Brody, Miley Cyrus, Martina Navratilova, Alec Baldwin, and Kristen Johnston in calling for a ban on horse-drawn carriages in New York City. Then become a PETA member to help keep animal rights moving forward.

Here it is: the car that can save animals' lives:

New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets (NYCLASS), a group that has been working with PETA to free the horses who are forced to pull carriages on New York City's streets, commissioned a car designer to build a replica of a classic car that tourists could ride in instead. The result is a charming Gatsby-era "horseless carriage" inspired by the 1909 Pierce-Arrow and Packard. Designer Jason Wenig wanted people to feel transported, so his model includes romantic features, such as a stereo system, that aren't available in horse-drawn carriages. The re-envisioned classic car is also eco-friendly.

NYCLASS, PETA, and the New York City Council members who agree that too many horses have already died on New York's streets are pushing the city to allow one of the cars to begin offering tours on a trial basis. Israel recently paved the way by banning "any vehicle drawn by an animal" from operating on urban roads—the dangerous, congested streets of New York City are no place for horse-drawn vehicles, either.

Please urge the entire City Council to support the use of these lifesaving cars.

How do horses show love? They nuzzle and groom each other.

How do people show love to horses? By refusing to ride in a horse-drawn carriage. 

On most Valentine's Days, record numbers of these sensitive, skittish animals are forced to drag carriages full of people across the hard pavement, dodging loud traffic and breathing exhaust fumes. But this February 14, PETA asked people to celebrate in a truly lovely way: taking a romantic stroll and leaving abused horses out of the plan.

Demonstrators explained that in the past year alone, there have been 13 accidents involving horse-drawn carriages. There were a barrage of supportive honks and thumbs-up signs, and a group of 50 high school students saw us and cheered.

And the efforts paid off: Few people climbed aboard the carriages.

Multitudes have called on New York to ban horse-drawn carriages. Please add your name to the list today.

As ever-more people join PETA and New Yorkers for Clean, Livable & Safe Streets (NYCLASS) in calling for a ban on New York's horse-drawn carriages, Alec Baldwin is taking advocacy for horses to primetime.

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In an upcoming episode of 30 Rock, people across the country will hear Alec's character, Jack Donaghy, call horse-drawn carriages "rolling torture wagons for nature's most dignified creature." That's the perfect way to describe the disgusting little business that forces horses to trudge along in all weather extremes, inhaling exhaust fumes and risking becoming one of the horses who are killed or injured by cars.

Here's what Alec had to say about the upcoming episode:

So make like Kenneth the page and do as Mr. Donaghy says. If you live in New York, please contact your City Council representatives and urge them to pass Intro. 86A. If you are outside New York, please sign NYCLASS' petition to ban horse-drawn carriages. 

Our hearts have been saddened by the shocking news that Jessie Streich-Kest—who worked closely with PETA on campaigns to end the use of horse-drawn carriages in New York City—was killed along with a friend by a falling tree in Brooklyn's Ditmas Park during Hurricane Sandy while walking her dog, Max, who is recovering from his injuries. Jessie was just 24 years old. PETA is paying tribute to her memory by adding her name to a leaf plaque on our Tree of Life. 

Jessie was a dedicated advocate for animals who served as a field organizer for NYCLASS (New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets). She was outspoken about the need to shut down the horse-drawn carriage trade because of the miseries inflicted on the horses—including extreme weather, chaotic traffic, hard pavement, exhaust fumes, loud noises, inadequate care, and eventual slaughter—as well as the dangers to the public. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family at this difficult time.

What You Can Do

Although our hearts mourn the loss of Jessie, PETA is more determined than ever to realize her goal of improving the lives of New York's horses—and you can help. Please help us pay tribute to Jessie by urging City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to support legislation to phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages in favor of humane, safe, and eco-friendly electric versions of classic cars.