Horse Carriage Rides in New York City

Why Horse Carriage Rides in New York City should be banned. Horse carriage rides are wonderful mode of transport that has widely been used in the US and other nations including the UK. The carriage rides are known for the good experience that they pose to users. The carriages remain a flexible and valued mode of transport at the central park in the US. Many people prefer using the mode of transport when adventuring parks or visiting recreational centers. They use the carriages because they enable effective view of nature and the diverse valuables in the environment. Using them gives people the opportunity to see everything around them and experience a good feel of adventuring the parks (Momberg 1). For instance, the carriages enable park visitors to see various types of animals both wild and domestic including other attractive artifacts in expansive areas.
Over the years, horse carriages have been credited for enabling people to experience the beauty of parks especially the central park. Besides that, the horse carriages have been used to facilitate various socio-economic activities. The activities include ferrying of tourists, facilitation of wedding ceremonies by transporting the wedding party and other officials. For instance, there are people who prefer using the carriages as the official mode of transport due to their comfort ability and natural beauty they present. Additionally, other people use the carriages to stroll around the major cities while having a clear view of the environment and the resources available.

Economically, the carriages have helped in contributing to the nation’s GDP including advancing the economic status of the owners. Similarly, the carriages have created jobs for many people. Despite the evident benefits, the horse carriage ridding has been presenting serous challenges in New York and other states. The challenges are prompting the need for its eradication in the nation. This paper gives comprehensive discussion relating to horse carriage rides in New York with focus to why they carriage rides should be banned.
Thesis statement
There is a great need to ban horse carriage riding in New York City US due to the far-reaching effects that the mode of transport poses to individuals in the region.
Why the horse carriage ride should be banned
As noted by Gay and Dawsey (1), horse carriage rides have been presenting immense socio-economic benefits that include contribution to the nations GDP, empowering of owners financially, creation of job opportunities and creation of memorable moments in various individuals’ lives. Despite the benefits, there is an urgent need to terminate or burn the usage of the horse carriage rides especially in the New York City. Proponents of this move cite numerous reasons towards the decision. They hold that the carriages are increasingly causing more harm than good as they expose most individuals to unwarranted physical, mental including psychological suffering (Gay and Dawsey 1).
The first reason floated to justify the need for the ban is that the carriages are causing more accidents in various towns of late. The number of accidents is increasing monthly according to the statistics presented by the US state department of transport (Momberg 1). Federal transport and police agencies also cite an acute increase in the number of deaths that is caused by careless riding of the carriages. In New York alone, over three people die monthly because of infringement by the horse carriages (Gay and Dawsey 2). The carriages contribute to the deaths directly or indirectly as depicted. The direct involvement is where they hit passengers and run over them causing serious injuries while the indirect involvement is where ahead of coalition with cars occur. Such incidences lead to the death of those in those cars, those walking and those riding on the carriages.
The second reason that prompts the need to ban the use of horse carriages in New York City is that they cause congestion in the city. Many people including the Mayor of New York town have complained about the increasing congestion in the New York City. They attribute the congestion to the increasing number of horse carriage rides. The carriage rides are evident along the city streets during weekdays and weekends, a trend that is highly worried. According to Momberg (1), they contribute to the heavy traffic that is being witnessed in the city that hosts many high profile visitors and globally significant activities. This makes commuting and provision of adequate security difficult. Due to the highlighted reasons, the city’s authorities are determined to have them banned in the city to pave way for easy movement and flow of activities by reducing congestion.
The push to ban the use of horse carriages is also fueled by the animal rights activists. The activists want the animal rights to be respected (Owen 23). They advocate for safer care and protection of horses by ensuring that they are not subjected to heavy tasks. According to the activists, the horses are being mistreated given that they can work the whole day without rest. They also complain about the load they pull that is heavy for their sustainability in the long run (Gay and Dawsey 3). The workload according to them will contribute in compromising their lives and eventually lead them to death. The activists are pushing the lawmakers to amend the laws regarding the use of horses to have them relieved from executing the heavy tasks. The activists term the move as the legitimate way to terminate the abuse of horses.
Another reason for the ban is the increasing number of horses that are dying. The number of horses in the nation is decreasing and the reduction is attributable to overworking that makes them vulnerable. The animal rights activists who are pushing for the enactment of the Animal Welfare Act also float this reason. They want a provision determining the age and period that horses can be used including the average weight that they can carry (Fitzsimmons 1). Their argument is that horses are overworked until they are aged thereby exposing them to unwarranted death. They would want the horses to be retired from pulling heavy loads at a pre-set age to help in protecting them from harm. The carriages are not wanted along the streets because they cause confusion to motorists and other road users. The confusion leads to diversion in wrong paths that in turn results to wastage of time and resources to individuals and motorists (Fitzsimmons 1).
Based on the facts and reasons presented, it is prudent for the use of horse carriage rides to be terminated in the city of New York. The ban is necessary to make the city free from horse carriage intrusion thereby promote free flow of traffic. It is equally essential to promote systematic protection of the fundamental rights of horses in the nation. This is imperative given that horses are living things that get tired. They should not be subjected to heavy tasks and workload for long hours as this compromises their wellbeing. Variably, the move will facilitate effective adherence to the Animal Rights Act that most horse owners have been violating over the years. They will be under obligation to protect the rights of the animals appropriately.
Conclusion
Indeed, the move to have the use of horse carriages banned in New York is timely and relevant in decongesting the city. The move is necessary due to the increasing number of horse rides that are evident along the streets. The decision is also necessary to enable the overworked horses to enjoy their rights as provided under the animals protection rights Act. Most stakeholders in the city of New York including the council leaders affirm the need for the protection of horses. They propose that they should be exposed to work within limited hours. If not, then there services should not be sought. The animal rights activists hold on their part that developing effective legislation is the ultimate solution to the problem. The law is suitable since it presents humane and equitable solutions that hold the capacity of ensuring that horses are moved out of the streets. The law will also ensure that the lives of the horses are protected just like that of human beings. The idea of imposing the ban is to have the increasing cases of accidents related to horse carriages mitigated effectively.
Works Cited
Fitzsimmons, Daniel. A New Course on Horses. StrausMedia. 2015.
Gay, Mara and Dawsey, Josh. Proposed Ban on Horse-Drawn Carriages Gains Little Traction. The Wall Street Journal. Vol. 1. (1), 2015.
Momberg, Tom. Mayor to change horse carriage plans. The Times Ledger. 2015.