Horse dies in the sun while pulling a carriage in Central Park, the mayor of New York: “enough exploitation”

The green heart of Manhattan has turned into the theater of heartbreaking agony that reopens a never-healed wound on the issue of animal rights. In the late afternoon of Tuesday, June 9, at Strawberry Fields and 72nd Street, a 16-year-old horse named Deniz fell to the ground while pulling a carriage with two passengers on board.

A horrible death, which took place in about ten minutes of spasms and breathing difficulties before the incredulous and tearful eyes of passers-by. A tragic event which is nothing but yet another painful wake-up call of an anachronistic commercial system that forces sentient creatures to unbearable hardships on city asphalt.

The heat warning and the grueling shifts in traffic

The tragedy occurred on a day when New York was in full heat warning. Forcing equines to move in a congested urban context, amidst smog, deafening noises and scorching asphalt temperatures, represents true barbarism disguised as tradition.

While the transport union TWU Local 100 defends itself by speaking of a tragic and unpredictable sudden illness – underlining how the animal was deemed fit by a veterinary visit in March – the Cornell University clinic will perform a thorough autopsy. However, the dynamics speak for themselves: deaths and carriage collisions in Midtown are frequent, and only last summer another mare died in similar circumstances in Manhattan.

Towards the electric turning point: the push for Ryder’s Law

The reaction of public opinion and protectionist groups such as NYCLASS was immediate and furious. Openly supported by the mayor of the Big Apple, mayor Zohran Mamdani, the associations are joining forces to push the city council to definitively approve the Ryder’s Law.

This legislative text aims to put an end to a business that has been going on for over 150 years, banning animal-powered carriages in favor of modern and sustainable electric carriages. Replacing horses with electric vehicles would safeguard the employment of grooms and the tourist appeal of Central Park, while finally saying goodbye to the unacceptable exploitation of wildlife in one of the most chaotic and visited metropolises in the world.

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