Monday, December 1, 2008

And another tragic death

Tourists watched in horror as Birillo suffered
A beautiful horse named Birillo died recently in Rome, after spooking and losing his footing when a truck sped close to him near the Colosseum, perhaps even grazing him. A crowd of tourists watched in horror as Birillo suffered and had to be put down. Those sad images brought to mind the painful memory of Smoothie,the New York City carriage horse who died in September 2007 after spooking.
Larger photo: Birillo, 2008, Rome. Inset: Smoothie, 2007, NYC.

Even as Birillo lay dying a few days ago, a global movement was gaining strength--an international coalition that seeks to ban horse-drawn carriages. On Saturday, December 6, activists in cities around will world will mark "Horses Without Carriages International" day, a united effort to bring this issue to the forefront in cities around the world. Anti-carriage activists in Rome, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Charleston, S.C., Annapolis, Md., Dublin, Florence, Tel Aviv, and Victoria, Canada are planning peaceful demonstrations to make it known that putting horse-drawn carriages in the midst of city traffic is irrelevant, cruel, unnecessary, and simply wrong.
Take action wherever you are on December 6, 2008, and all throughout the coming year, to unite with others who want to put an end to horse-drawn carriages in cities. Learn more about Horses Without Carriages International and the NYC day of action, sponsored by the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages.
More information to come...

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