PETA Statement: Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides Must End

For Immediate Release:
July 21, 2020

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

Charleston, S.C. – Below, please find a statement from PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews in response to the death of Ervin, a horse used by the Old South Carriage Co. who ran through the streets of Charleston while pulling an empty carriage on Sunday night, injured his legs, and was euthanized:

If anyone was waiting for a sign that horse-drawn carriage rides must end: it’s the horse who lost his life in the latest accident. Forcing a skittish animal to pull an oversized carriage, breathe toxic exhaust fumes, and risk serious leg ailments by pounding the pavement all day is a recipe for disaster. Horses in Charleston have tipped over a carriage, wandered loose through the streets, and crashed into cars, and this horse’s needless death is exactly why PETA is calling on Charleston to be the next city to ban horse-drawn carriages.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.

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 Ingrid E. Newkirk

“Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights?” READ MORE

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