Horses Don't Belong in Any City's Traffic: Dispatch from America's Oldest City

In a letter to the editor of the St. Augustine Record, Eva Bromberek described a recent visit to the historic city: “We were going into a restaurant when I saw a horse that looked like it was in such bad condition. A van was behind the carriage honking at it, practically pushing it. It ruined my whole night,” Eva wrote. She also mentioned a hit-and-run recent accident (Dec. 8, 2007) in which a car rear-ended a horse-drawn carriage in St. Augustine and noted, “Through the years I have seen St. Augustine traffic get progressively worse, and the horses seem to be in more danger than ever before.” Eva wrote that while she has always enjoyed her visits to St. Augustine, she may not return. "I have almost reached the point that I have to make decisions about how much heart-wrenching animal suffering I can bear to watch on the streets of St. Augustine,” she wrote.

It is troublesome to imagine the plight of the horses who are forced to work in the sweltering heat of Florida, pulling carriages full of tourists while drivers honk their horns. Similarly, it is terrifying to see the horses working in New York City. It strikes fear and dread in my heart. Tourism is a major industry in Florida and New York, but inhumane treatment of animals is an inappropriate attraction. City leaders everywhere should take notice that prospective tourists making travel plans are taking into account the treatment and mistreatment of animals. People around the world are looking to New York City to set an example. St. Augustine and New York both have their glimpses of "old-world charm." The sight of horses pulling carriages in traffic, or lying dead in the street, does nothing to enhance this image.
Time to get the horses off the streets. Enough is enough.

Not a New Yorker? You can help NYC horses
NYC residents: Ask City Council Members to Support Intro. 658 (Introduced by Councilman Tony Avella)
Ask St. Augustine Mayor Joseph L. Boles to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages In the Nation's Oldest City