A 12-year-old carriage horse collapsed and died in New York City, prompting outrage among activists.
A video of the saddening incident started circulating online and showed a horse collapsing to the ground in Central Park.
A spokesperson for the Historic Horse-Drawn Carriages of Central Park told NBC New York: “The horse showed sudden signs of distress around 12:30 pm on Saturday after doing a single ride and then waiting for approximately an hour and a half at the 7th Ave carriage stand.”
Aisha, the horse, was later euthanized.
The spokesperson continued: “She progressively and rapidly weakened in her hind end and unexpectedly collapsed,” adding that a vet and Aisha’s owner “made the difficult but humane decision to put her to sleep” after cardiac complications.
The organization also added in a statement to WABC: “Medical emergencies can happen to the healthiest horses, receiving the best, highly-regulated care.”
Edita Birnkrant, NCYLASS executive director, said to New York Daily News: “This video is just the latest disturbing piece of evidence we’ve seen showing how poorly these horses are treated and what they go through.”
She added: “This is not tourism. This is abuse.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio also wrote on Twitter: “The video of a horse collapsing and dying in Central Park yesterday is painful and says so much about a persistent problem.
“We’ve made real progress in animal welfare but we must go further. The NYPD’s Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad is on the case and WILL get answers.”
The executive director of Animal Wellness Action, Marty Irby, said in a statement: “Mayor DeBlasio should instruct the NYPD to swiftly investigate this case. At a minimum, the driver’s license should be immediately suspended until an investigation has been completed.
“Working horses on slippery asphalt for long periods of time without the proper care and nourishment is inexcusable. The animal protection movement in America ignited 150 years ago over the issue of carriage horse abuse, yet the City of New York continues to allow it to persist today.
“The American people will no longer tolerate these incidents in our modern-day society – this isn’t 1820, it’s 2020.”
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