Why do horses work in dangerous traffic in Times Square ?

From Elizabeth Forel :

Horses are allowed to work in Times Square in the evenings until 3:00 am. Take a look at these pictures and this video :

These horses do not belong on the streets of New York City. What possible attraction could there be to riding in a carriage on crowded, filthy, smelly streets with bright lights and excessive noise led by a dispirited horse whose vision and probably hearing are impaired?

Where is our humanity? How can we continue to allow this inhumane and unsafe business to exist in New York City? Luckily, many people want it to end – all polls since 2006 have shown that between 75 and 80 percent of respondents want this business to be shut down.

This is why we ask you to join us in supporting the health and wellbeing of horses : please sign a petition endorsing the Avella/Rosenthal bill in the NYS legislature to prohibit the use of horse-drawn carriages in New York City.

Carriage Horse Collapses Midtown

Another carriage horse collapsed today while working during the heavy holiday shopping and tourist season in busy Midtown Manhattan. The horse fell onto the pavement near the intersection of 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, according to a Facebook alert posted by animal rights activist Elizabeth Forel. This video was taken by an activist with the animal rights group called Win Animal Rights (WAR), and it is going viral. For years, animal rights activists have been trying to shut down the cruel carriage horse industry over past traffic accidents and unsafe work conditions that the horses must endure, including having to work during hurricane warnings. But the inhumane policies of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Christine Quinn, who accept campaign donations bundled by the horse carriage lobbyists, continue to resist efforts to close the unsafe use of horses to pull carriages in the middle of the heavy traffic of Midtown Manhattan.