New York City's new mayor, Bill de Blasio, says he is working to ban horse-drawn carriages from his city's streets and replace them with vintage cars.
de Blasio is consulting with his legal team on how to legislatively end the practice of horses pulling people, mostly tourists, through the streets of New York. The mayor believes the practice is inhumane because it subjects the animals to car and bus exhaust and the horses are confined to stables instead of pastures. Tourism authorities don't believe banning the practice will deter tourists from visiting the Big Apple.
The carriages and horses could be replaced by vintage cars driven by the same men and women operating the horse-drawn carriages. Many in the industry are not happy with the proposal and believe tourists will not flock to old cars in the way they take to the carriages. They also dispute the claim that the horses do not live happy lives.
