Horse Collapses From Excessive Heat, Then Another Horse & Tourist Die After Spooking In Manhattan’s Central Park: UPDATED

Editor’s note: We’ve covered the issue of horse drawn carriages in Central Park several times. The previous mayor was in favor of abolishing the industry, but due to push back from carriage owners and their union, the bill didn’t advance in City Council.  Advocates say there is no oversight for this industry whose workers have been witnessed beating dehydrated and weak horses, not providing them with sufficient water, and alleged neglectful conditions in their stables. According to animal rights advocates, multiple horses die each year for a variety of reasons.  A big one is accidents with cars, the drivers of which often treat horses like they are cars and not living feeling beings who shouldn’t be bumped into or run over.  But this is Manhattan we’re talking about, whose poor drivers are pretty much infamous.  

Below, please find a statement from PETA Director Ashley Byrne in response to today’s incident in New York City in which another horse pulling a carriage collapsed and died on the New York City streets:

“If City Council needed a sign that the time is now to pass Ryder’s Law, this is it. How many more horses must collapse and die on New York City streets before this deadly horse-drawn carriage industry is put out to pasture?”

Video of the horse who collapsed and died tonight can be seen here.

Ryder’s Law will be reintroduced tomorrow in the City Council, and PETA will join NYCLASS and members of the City Council—including bill sponsor Christopher Marte—on the steps of New York City Hall at noon, for a rally calling on council members, Health Committee Chair, Lynn Schulman, and Speaker Julie Menin to fast-track Ryder’s Law.

Following the recent deaths of carriage horse Deniz and an 18-year-old tourist, a giant new PETA billboard in Midtown is calling for an end to New York City’s horse-drawn carriage industry.

Not One More Death: New Call for a Ban on Horse-Drawn Carriages Towers Over NYC

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New York — A photo of Deniz, the 16-year-old horse who collapsed and died last week while being forced to pull a carriage in Central Park, now looms over New York City in a sky-high message from PETA, calling on city council members to urgently pass Ryder’s Law—the city’s proposed horse-drawn carriage ban—before anyone else is injured or killed due to the dangerous carriages. The message comes just days after an 18-year-old tourist died following a horse carriage crash in Central Park. The alert is located at the corner of 40^th Street and Eighth Avenue, near the Hell’s Kitchen horse stables and across from the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Following the teen’s death, PETA is calling on Mayor Mamdani for an emergency stoppage of horse-drawn carriage operations immediately, until Ryder’s Law is passed.

Ryder’s Law, named after a horse who collapsed on New York City streets and later died, would eliminate horse-drawn carriages and provide job retraining for drivers. The proposal came after video footage of Ryder lying on Ninth Avenue went viral, and reports that his driver slapped him, whipped him, and screamed at him to get up sparked outrage.

“The majority of New Yorkers want this bloodshed to end and fully support a carriage-horse ban, which would have prevented the tragic deaths of Deniz, dozens of other horses, and teenage tourist Romanch Mahajan,” says PETA Director Ashley Byrne. “How many more horses and people must suffer and die due to the New York City council members’ inaction? PETA is calling on them to pass Ryder’s Law immediately.”

Horses in the carriage industry are forced to toil in all weather extremes—dodging traffic, inhaling exhaust fumes, and pounding hard pavement all day long—leading to respiratory ailments and debilitating leg problems. Impatient and careless drivers have caused multiple incidents in which carriages have been hit, injuring and killing both horses and humans.

Banner Image: Deniz collapses in Central Park NYC. Image Credit – PETA