Banning Carriage Rides

Animal rights group wants FI to end its carriage rides
PETA says holiday trips are rife with dangers for the horses
By Nathaniel Cary TRIBUNE-TIMES WRITER

Animal rights activists petitioned Fountain Inn to ban horse-drawn carriage rides after two cars collided into carriages during the city's recent Spirit of Christmas Past festival.

In each incident, cars hit carriages that were carrying passengers on a tour of homes decorated for Christmas. Car drivers were ticketed in each case.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said it sent a letter via e-mail to Fountain Inn Mayor Gary Long that asks Long to push for legislation that would ban horse-drawn carriages in the city. Such a ban would protect the horses and prevent another accident, PETA said.

Long last week said neither he nor City Administrator Eddie Case had seen the letter.

In the letter, PETA states that "horses work in extreme weather conditions while walking on hard pavement, inhaling exhaust fumes, and dodging traffic, which can be terrifying to them. In addition, the dangerous element of having cumbersome carriages pulled by terrified, unpredictable animals on sometimes slippery, wet streets puts local cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists in harm's way."

In the first collision, Dec. 6, a driver of a Ford Mustang was ticketed for having an open container of beer and driving too close to the vehicle in front, according to a police report. Read More

It would seem to me that if the vehicles are responsible for these accidents, that maybe they should take these cars and their drivers off the road. It wasn’t the horse or carriage driver’s fault that someone was drinking and driving behind them. Why does PETA want to protect the people who are breaking the law by punishing those who are abiding by it. This is simply another stunt to stop people from being able to use animals for their intended purpose. Horses were not meant to be lawn ornaments. They are a natural resource meant for people to utilize.