Sudden Death of Carriage Horse in New York City Prompts Outrage: 'This Is Not Tourism'

The death of a 12-year-old carriage horse in New York City has prompted outrage among animal activists.

Over the weekend, footage began to circulate that showed a horse repeatedly collapsing to the ground in Central Park. The horse, who was named Aisha, was later euthanized.

“The horse showed sudden signs of distress around 12:30 pm on Saturday after doing a single ride and then waiting for approximately an hour and a half at the 7th Ave carriage stand,” a spokesperson for the Historic Horse-Drawn Carriages of Central Park said in a statement to NBC New York.

“She progressively and rapidly weakened in her hind end and unexpectedly collapsed,” the spokesperson continued, adding that a veterinarian and the horse’s owner then “made the difficult but humane decision to put her to sleep” following cardiac complications.

“Medical emergencies can happen to the healthiest horses, receiving the best, highly-regulated care,” the organization added in a statement to WABC.

Local advocacy group NYCLASS, which frequently protests the working conditions and treatment of carriage horses, has spoken out about the horse’s death.

“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,” NYCLASS executive director Edita Birnkrant told New York Daily News.

“This is not tourism,” she added, as she called for a ban of the horse-drawn carriage industry. “This is abuse.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio — who made putting a stop to horse-drawn carriage rides a campaign promise in 2013 — also spoke out over the weekend.

“The video of a horse collapsing and dying in Central Park yesterday is painful and says so much about a persistent problem,” he wrote on Twitter, noting that an investigation is ongoing.

“We’ve made real progress in animal welfare but we must go further. The NYPD’s Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad is on the case and WILL get answers.”

National animal welfare organizations are also speaking out following the mare’s death.

“Mayor DeBlasio should instruct the NYPD to swiftly investigate this case. At a minimum, the driver’s license should be immediately suspended until an investigation has been completed,” Marty Irby, executive director of Animal Wellness Action, said in a statement.

He added: “Working horses on slippery asphalt for long periods of time without the proper care and nourishment is inexcusable. The animal protection movement in America ignited 150 years ago over the issue of carriage horse abuse, yet the City of New York continues to allow it to persist today. The American people will no longer tolerate these incidents in our modern-day society – this isn’t 1820, it’s 2020.”