Animal Allies to Demo High-Tech E-Carriage During Vote on Horse Working Conditions
For Immediate Release:
August 12, 2025
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Ahead of Thursday’s vote on changes to regulations surrounding Savannah’s horse-drawn carriage industry, a herd of PETA supporters and Ban Horse Carriages Savannah members will gather at Johnson Square to encourage support for proposed legislation to ban horses from Savannah streets when temperatures reach 85 degrees and show off “Caroline”—a charming, cutting-edge horse-free e-carriage created by Carriage Horse Freedom. The animal allies will be joined by horse expert Susan Kayne, who founded New York-based Unbridled Sanctuary, and Savannah Alderman Nick Palumbo, before heading inside to voice their support for the legislation at the meeting.
PETA points out that carriage drivers are allowed to force horses to work in temperatures up to 95 degrees or a heat index of up to 110 degrees—the proposed legislation would reduce the maximum temperature to 85 degrees or a 100-degree heat index.
“No horse should be pounding hot asphalt, breathing exhaust, or dodging traffic day in and day out, but at least reducing the maximum temperature they can be forced to work in will afford them a small measure of relief,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges everyone never to ride in a horse-drawn carriage, because horses belong in grassy fields, not on Savannah’s crowded streets.”
Where: Johnson Square, at the intersection of Bull Street and E. Bryan Street, Savannah
When: Thursday, August 14, 10:15 a.m.
Carriage Horse Freedom’s e-carriage. Photo: Carriage Horse Freedom
Why: PETA notes that horses can startle easily, yet those in the carriage industry are subjected to a near-constant barrage of noise from car horns and other loud city activity. Horses forced to haul carriages every day in extreme weather and harsh conditions can develop respiratory ailments and debilitating injuries. Impatient and careless drivers have also caused multiple incidents in which carriages have been hit, sometimes injuring or killing both horses and humans.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
