Dead horse in downtown Atlanta fires up animal rights advocates
Should horses be banned from Atlanta streets?
After a horse collapsed and died in downtown Atlanta over the weekend, animal advocates got to work. They're calling on the city council to ban horses and carriage rides from city streets.
ATLANTA - After a horse was found dead downtown, animal rights groups are now pushing the city council to ban recreational horses from the city.
What they're saying:
The Georgia Animal Rights and Protection group is asking City Council to enact a ban on both carriage horses and private citizens riding their horses on city streets and sidewalks.
"It's animal abuse, purely and simply. I can't find anything good about it," said Julie Robertson, vice president of the Georgia Animal Rights and Protection group. Robertson has spent hours over the past several hours documenting what she sees as a growing trend: horses running through traffic in downtown Atlanta.
When Robertson heard that a horse had collapsed and died downtown over the weekend, she said: "It's sad, but I wasn't surprised."
A collapsed horse was located along Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta over the weekend.
That is why her organization is renewing its calls to city council to ban horses—both carriage horses and those owned by private citizens—from Atlanta streets. Robertson said horses in an urban environment that are not trained like police horses are, can be a danger to themselves and the public.
"Horses are highly skittish animals, and they have a very keen sense of hearing. They can hear things that we can't even hear, and so all of the noises and the smells and everything downtown is terrifying for them," said Robertson.
GARP worked with the Atlanta City Council on a recreational horse ban last year that did not come to fruition, but she hopes this latest loss will inspire action for everyone’s safety.
"Let's do something before a citizen of Atlanta gets hurt or killed," said Robertson.
What we know:
Late Wednesday afternoon, a memorial was set up for the horse who died. Haley Cope and Adazee Imarhiagbe left flowers and toys, saying they hope this is a wake-up call.
"I think it’s cruel and inhumane, and we should do something about it," said Haley Cope.
"If the animals are not treated in a humane way, I think we have to prioritize that over anything else, so if the answer is a ban, then so be it," said Adazee Imarhiagbe.
What we don't know:
It is still unclear if the owner of the horse who died will face charges.
The Source: FOX 5 Atlanta reporter Alexa Liacko interviewed Julie Robertson, vice president of the Georgia Animal Rights and Protection group, and two residents who contributed to a memorial for the deceased horse.