PETA to Salt Lake City: Ban Cruel, Dangerous Horse-Drawn Carriages

[The Straight Story]

Salt Lake City -- PETA has sent an urgent letter to Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and the City Council calling on them to implement a ban on horse-drawn carriages. PETA sent the letter after receiving eyewitness accounts of an August 29 incident in which a spooked horse who was pulling a carriage with seven passengers fled down Main Street in the city's downtown historic district. The horse struck a parked car, and the driver and an assisting police officer were injured.

"This incident should serve notice to the people of Salt Lake City that forcing horses to pull heavy loads through busy city streets is cruel and is an accident waiting to happen," says PETA Director Debbie Leahy. "The only way to ensure the safety of passengers, motorists, and horses is to ban horse-drawn carriages, so we're calling on the mayor and the City Council to act to prevent future tragedies."

In the letter, PETA points out that similar incidents have occurred before in Salt Lake City and in nearly every city in which horse-drawn carriages are still permitted to operate. These accidents often cause serious injuries and fatalities to horses, motorists, onlookers, carriage operators, and riders. A growing number of cities have implemented bans on horse-drawn carriages.

http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=13520