A carriage horse in New York City has tragically lost its life, having being euthanized after collapsing in Central Park.
According to the New York Post, the horse collapsed in a caught-on-camera incident that prompted protests and calls for an investigation.
It’s reported that the horse, a 12-year-old named Aisha, suffered a cardiac arrest around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Footage uploaded to social media showed the mare stumbling on her hind legs and slumping to the ground. Her handlers tried and failed to pull her back to her feet.
She was later slid into a horse trailer and taken to her stable on nearby 52nd street. Officials say she was checked out by her veterinarian within an hour but was never able to stand up. Her owner made the decision to put her to sleep.
Unsurprisingly, animal activists were outraged after footage of Aisha collapsing emerged.
“The video of a horse collapsing and dying in Central Park yesterday is painful and says so much about a persistent problem,” Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted on Sunday.
Meanwhile, dozens of demonstrators clad in black protested the carriage industry on Sunday afternoon.
“This video is just the latest disturbing piece of evidence we’ve seen showing how poorly these horses are treated and what they go through on these busy city streets,” Edita Birnkrant, the executive director of NYCLASS said in a statement.
“New York City’s carriage horses are in a crisis. They are overworked, under cared for, and put in dangerous situations every day with no accountability when things like this happen.”
The mayor confirmed that the NYPD’s Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad was looking into the incident.
What a needless tragedy, and one that surely won’t soon be forgotten.
Share this article if you think animals who are made to work for our entertainment should be freed from their burdens.
