PETA to Mayor Reed: Ban Cruel, Dangerous Horse-Drawn Carriages

Incident Highlights the Risk to Horses and the Public

For Immediate Release:
April 20, 2010

Contact:
Lisa Wathne 757-622-7382

Atlanta -- Today, PETA sent an urgent letter to Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and the City Council calling on them to implement a ban on horse-drawn carriages in the city. PETA's letter follows an April 16 incident in which a horse-drawn carriage shattered after it was hit by two speeding cars on Peach Street, sending four people to the hospital and injuring the horse.

"Forcing horses to pull heavy loads through busy city streets is cruel, and it's an accident waiting to happen," says PETA Director Debbie Leahy. "This incident should be a wake-up call to the people of Atlanta. The only way to ensure the safety of passengers, motorists, and horses is to ban horse-drawn carriages, so we urge the mayor and the City Council to act to prevent future tragedies."

In the letter, PETA points out that similar incidents have occurred in nearly every city in which horse-drawn carriages operate, often causing serious and even fatal injuries to horses, motorists, onlookers, carriage operators, and passengers. A growing number of cities--including Biloxi, Miss.; Las Vegas and Reno, Nev.; Palm Beach, Panama City, Key West, Deerfield Beach, and Pompano Beach, Fla.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Camden, N.J.; and London, Paris, Beijing, and Toronto--have banned horse-drawn carriages.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.