Story
I'm not going to say much about this one. One, because you all already know where I stand and two, I think the article pretty much says it all.
The midday sun beat down Sunday on protesters who lined a St. Augustine street while holding signs calling for a ban of horse-drawn carriages, a long-time staple of the historic city's tourism industry.
But protesters said while they want a ban, they believe the most achievable goal would be for the city to enact a law setting standards aimed at protecting the health of the horses.
City officials have been drawing up possible changes to the ordinance for horse-drawn carriages.
"I don't think they [city officials] will ban carriage horses, but they can at least pass something that so the horses are not suffering so badly," said Carla Wilson, Central Florida coordinator for the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida. "I think St. Augustine needs to get with the program and follow other cities that have made compassionate choices for the horses."
The protest, which has occurred in past summers in St. Augustine, met a differing viewpoint from John Capp Jr., who said he drives a carriage for Country Carriages, one of the carriage companies in the city.
Looking out for the horses
He approached the protesters, who stood along Menendez Avenue near Castillo de San Marcos, and told them his employer loves horses and maintains policies that protect the animals.
He said Country Carriages didn't have any carriages in action around noon Sunday because it was too hot.
In an interview, Capp said the horses like pulling the carriages and when he selects a horse, all the horses vie for attention to be picked for the assignment.
Capp said the horses work in shifts, such as 9 a.m. to about 3 p.m., at which time another horse comes in for the second part of the day. He said they get regular breaks for water and if the heat index exceeds 103 to 105, the horses go off duty.
The heat index uses a formula to measure what heat feels like when humidity is added to the actual temperature. The National Weather Service will issue alerts for people when the heat index is forecast to exceed 105 to 110 degrees for two straight days.
Some protesters said if the company has policies for safeguarding the horses, there should be no problem in writing those into city law.
The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida wants to restrict summertime carriage rides to after 5 p.m. in the summer. limit the time horses work and require "an adequate amount of clean, fresh water."
Capp said whether that's needed is an issue for owners of the business and city leaders to decide. He said the protest was "kind of comical" and the group's time would be better spent helping animals affected by the Gulf oil spill. He said the carriages give visitors a way to learn about St. Augustine.
"It's a history lesson with class," he said. "It would be a sad day if they took the carriages away."
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