The strides New York’s progressives made in November’s election have been widely recognized. Few people have understood what those gains mean for animals.
The animal rights work already underway is notable for both its breadth and depth, particularly at the city level. Major improvements to New York City’s municipal animal shelters are currently underway, with desperately needed full-service shelters in the Bronx and Queens approved in the City Council, led by its animal-loving speaker Corey Johnson.
Additionally, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who happens to be a vegan, and several councilmembers want to make plant-based food options more widely available for public school students. The initiative known as Meatless Mondays dovetails with a resolution sponsored by vegan Councilman Fernando Cabrera, dubbed “Ban the Baloney.”
The city’s decision to prioritize less meat and more vegetables shouldn’t come as a surprise. Health experts find a whole-food diet to be the healthiest option for most individuals. In fact, just last month, NYC Health + Hospitals launched a “Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine Program” to help patients transition to primarily eating whole grains, fruits, vegetables and nuts, along with other lifestyle changes.
Other movement in the food space includes a current City Council bill by Carlina Rivera that would ban foie gras throughout the city. The costly French delicacy involves force-feeding ducks and geese several times a day by shoving metal pipes down their throats and swelling their livers to 10 times a healthy size. It is a disgusting practice and it must end.
Few New Yorkers will notice any change to their favorite menus, but countless animals will benefit. If passed, New York City will join California and more than a dozen countries that prohibit this cruel practice.
And at the state level, Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal introduced legislation that would ban most fur products in New York. Several clothing brands such as Gucci and Chanel have already moved away from using furs. No other state has pursued such a broad law and, if passed and signed by Gov. Cuomo, New Yorkers should celebrate its government’s moral courage.
But the most exciting animal rights changes for my organization are the ones to the horse carriage industry, to which we have long sought major reform. The carriage horses that trudge through midtown traffic and Central Park have been mistreated for generations and have barely benefited from any new protections despite New York’s changing social mores.
Horses are finally getting the respect they deserve.
Most recently, the city promulgated new rules for the hack-line — where passengers board the carriages — to inside newly car-free Central Park. The rule was challenged in court by a carriage industry which makes no attempt to adapt — but just this week, a state Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit. Beginning Friday, pending a last-minute appeal, carriage horses will no longer be on 59th St., where they were forced to contend for space and air among constant vehicle traffic. Now they will benefit from a more quiet, shaded space. The old arrangement was not only dangerous to the horses, who are easily frightened, but it also increased congestion for pedestrians and motorists, alike.
Adding to the momentum, Councilmember Keith Powers has just introduced the Carriage Horse Heat Relief Bill – with 15 sponsors on day one – to protect carriage horses during the hottest days of the summer.
Already, horses must return to their stables when it is 90 degrees outside. The legislation would take into account humidity and expand protections for when the heat index, or “real feel” is 90 degrees. Last August, NYCLASS documented a carriage horse in severe respiratory distress, among several other issues. Cities such as St. Louis and Charleston already use the heat index. New York should follow their lead.
The year is young, but New Yorkers should be encouraged by the leadership exhibited by their lawmakers. New York is on the right path to becoming a more humane state for all residents, both two- and four-legged.
Birnkrant is the executive director of New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets (NYCLASS).
