April 13, 2010
This Horse Totally Needs Your Help
Okay, true, true, we talk the vegan talk around here quite a bit, but you have to admit, we keep the heaviness to a minimum in most cases. ‘Hey, we like this vegan cheese,’ or, ‘Check out these lentils.’ …sorry. I’m waiting for the dirty joke… Anyway, that should tell you exactly how important this is to us here at Kindness of Ravens and Raven + Crow and Katie and Troy and whatever other sort of collectives we might be able to represent. Last year, we got together with MooShoes and the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages to design and produce some posters to promote the cause of ending the horse-drawn carriage industry. It’s an inherently inhumane industry and one we’ve been dead-set against ever since we saw the sad, sad eyes of these animals as they walked around Central Park. I mean, come on. Who can reasonably argue that this is an industry that serves anything but a supremely superficial tourist trap and all at the expense of some really beautiful, truly intelligent, and sadly mentally and physically sensitive animals? Who can say that—even if they’re treated with the most gentle of kid gloves—they lead good lives—freezing in the winter, sweltering in the summer, and always surrounded by the city’s honking, zooming cars, frankly careless tourists, and many other hazards and contrivances that many New Yorkers have a hard time dealing with on a daily basis?
The problem, it seems, is that many people can make that argument. Specifically tomorrow, when Intro 35A—a bill that awards carriage drivers with raises and essentially makes a number of empty changes to the treatment of the horses—is up for vote. So—and, again, we NEVER ask you for anything like this, dear reader—we URGE you to take two minutes, go to this site, enter your address to find your district’s local council member, and give them a quick call. We did it and it really took only a few minutes. Basically, we’re asking council members to vote against Intro 35A (raises, no real changes for the horses) Wednesday, and then, when it comes up for vote, support Intro 86/92, which provides alternatives to the carriage industry and phases it out in New York City. Really. It take a few minutes and we can say from the experience that it makes you feel pretty awesome. Plus the dude who answered the phone at Brad Lander’s office seemed pretty alright.
It’s tad complicated, but if you’d like to find out more, check out the What You Can Do page on Ban HDC’s site. They’ve got some pretty good information on why a band is needed too here. And to anyone who reads this and calls, seriously, thank you. So much.
