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Taking the blinders off: Activists claim win against horse-drawn carriage industry
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Six horses held by J.C. Cutters carriage company near Goose Island were rescued by city and Humane Society crews Friday due to allegations of neglect. The animals were reportedly kept in unsanitary conditions in a tent that left them exposed to subzero temperatures. The Chicago Tribune quickly weighed in with an article about how the horse-drawn carriage industry that caters to nostalgic couples and tourists along Michigan Avenue has been on the decline for years.
All of this is music to the ears of animal rights activists who've been campaigning to ban this business from Chicago. On Dec. 6, members of the Animal Defense League, Coalition for Animal Rights and Mercy for Animals began holding demonstrations every Saturday at Water Tower Park, the main pickup and drop-off point for carriage rides.The activists claim the industry is inhumane because it exposes horses to hazards such as exhaustion, leg and hoof ailments, and injury in city traffic; some of them go further, contending that any animal use by humans is exploitation.
J.C. Cutters, which was the subject of an NBC investigation in October, soon became the first victim of the campaign. "We were rejoicing Jan. 1 when [the city] wouldn't renew their license," said ADL's Marcos Alcozer. Since J.C. Cutters could no longer operate, its horses were kept full-time in a tent at the company's West Town facility. The activists then began calling and writing to the Animal Care and Control department about the conditions the horses were living in.
"It took a little longer than we wanted, but they finally listened and they got over there and took possession of all of them," Alcozer said. "I wouldn't say that we were the only ones who brought light to it, but we definitely got the alderman of that ward on board." According to Alcozer, 32nd Ward Ald. Scott Waguespack was asked to sign a permit that would allow the horses to be kept in the tent, but "we asked him to deny the permit for that tent, and he did so. Then there was a court hearing case about that tent, and he sent his secretary to stand up for the horses, and she argued on our side."
The activists were back at Water Tower the day after the horses were impounded. Some of them held signs in front of carriages waiting for customers, while others gathered signatures on a petition asking Norma Reyes, commissioner of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, to ban the practice; one of them walked around the park using a bullhorn to make the group's case.
Three police officers stood watch, and Alcozer said they're always there. "Sometimes they'll like to give us a little bit of a hard time and say things that, you know, we're not allowed to have a bullhorn, but we know the laws, we know that we're allowed to." And he acknowledged some occasions when police have been cooperative. "When it's extremely cold, we've been out here on two-degree days when the horse aren't allowed to work, and they take our side more times than not, and they send all the carriages home."
Alcozer said the group usually gets a good response from residents and tourists, "specially people [living] in the Streeterville community, who have to see these horse every single day. They're disgusted by it, and they don't want them here anymore." During the 10 or 15 minutes I was around, most passerby ignored the demonstration, but some stopped to gawk, ask questions or sign the petition. For the carriage drivers, business was slow.
That's not enough for the activists. "We'll be here every Saturday until they're gone," Alcozer said.
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