Black Jack, a 17-year-old horse, passed away after suffering from colic, an illness that causes abdominal pain in horses. The horse’s owner noticed that Black Jack was suffering from the condition and spoke with veterinarians, but the horse died before the vet arrived.
In tourist destinations around the world, horses are used to
pull carriages. Credit: Amy
Jones/Moving Animals
The death of a New York City carriage horse last week has renewed
calls for a citywide ban to help prevent any further horse deaths in
the industry.
Black Jack, a 17-year-old horse, passed away after suffering from
colic, an illness that causes abdominal pain in horses. The horse’s
owner noticed that Black Jack was suffering from the condition and
spoke with veterinarians, but the horse died before the vet arrived,
reports local news outlet amNewYork Metro.
Animal welfare groups say that the painful condition of colic can be
avoided, by allowing horses a proper diet, grazing on pasture, and
basic veterinary care.
Black Jack had apparently not been given a veterinary exam since
February 28, according to New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe
Streets (NYCLASS), a local group who are campaigning for a ban on
horse carriages in the city.
NYCLASS say that colic is listed as a common cause of death for NYC
carriage horses.
"The tragic and agonizing death of Blackjack is another harrowing
reminder of the horse owner lobby’s persistent neglect and callous
disregard for these animals”, said Edita Birnkrant, Executive
Director of NYCLASS.
“This is not an isolated incident, but a reflection of a
profit-driven system that treats horses as expendable commodities”,
Birnkrant explains.
New York’s Horse Carriage Problem
The city’s horse carriage industry has faced increasing condemnation
in recent years after a series of incidents made headlines in
national and international news outlets. In 2022, viral footage was
widely shared of a horse collapsing after pulling a heavy carriage
through Midtown’s busy streets during a heatwave. The video clips
from concerned onlookers showed carriage horse, Ryder, being whipped
and hit by his owner while the horse was in a collapsed state. Ryder
was euthanized a few months later.
Ryder after he collapsed. Credit: Voters For Animal
Rights
Other notable incidents include 12-year-old mare, Aisha, who
collapsed and died while giving carriage rides in Central Park back
in 2020. Before her death, she was filmed stumbling and unable to
straighten her back legs, before completely collapsing. In an effort
to make her stand, carriage-industry workers appeared to blow smoke
into Aisha’s face, leading her to flip over in terror.
And in 2021, a New York carriage horse named Chief crashed into the
back of a BMW and suffered deep lacerations to his midsection, head,
and front right leg.
Solutions for Change
Globally, popular tourist destinations that allow carriage horses
have increasingly faced calls to ban the practice and provide more
ethical alternatives. Dominican Republic’s historic capital city of
Santo Domingo has replaced horse-drawn carriages with modern,
animal-free electric carriages, while the city of Chicago banned
horse-drawn carriage rides after a decade-long attempt to regulate
the industry failed to help protect the horses.
Animal welfare organizations hoped that Chicago’s ban in 2020 on
carriage horses in the city would influence other cities to follow
suit and become carriage-free too.