Chicago bans horse drawn carriages from 2021
On Friday April 24th, Chicago City Council voted 46 to 4 to pass a ban on horse-drawn carriages from operating in the city commencing January 1st 2021. The ordinance will prevent the city from issuing any new licences and will ban the operators from renewing their existing licences. Presently, there are only 10 remaining horse-drawn carriage licences in Chicago that will expire at the end of 2020.
Kitty Block, who is the president and chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States, welcomed the city’s move to protect and stop exploiting horses.“These animals suffer due to harsh working conditions, often experiencing chronic medical problems, including respiratory ailments and lameness, which are exacerbated by standing on hard surfaces for long periods and forced to pull overloaded carriages,” Ms. Block said in a statement.