Carriage driver charged with animal cruelty

New York Times reports case of animal cruelty in Central Park. 

CARRIAGE DRIVER CHARGED WITH ANIMAL CRUELTY • THE SIGHT OF A HORSE STRUGGLING IN HARNESS LEADS TO AN INQUIRY.
We salute NYPD Officer Brian Coll for his professionalism and interest in the well-being of animals.

Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages www.banhdc.orgHorses Without Carriages International www.horseswithoutcarriages.org

PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES — driver charged with animal cruelty ** new blog ** animal protection forum January 17th ** our bus ads * Chicago horse spooks

The NY Times broke the story on Friday, December 20th. Carriage Driver Is Charged With Animal Cruelty – The incident was reported by Marc Santora.

A carriage horse driver with a checkered history was charged on Friday with animal cruelty after a police officer observed him working a horse that was visibly injured, according to court documents.The officer, Brian Coll, was on patrol in Central Park shortly before midnight on Wednesday when he noticed a horse struggling to pull the weight of the carriage to which it was yoked. He questioned the driver, Saverio Colarusso, and learned that the horse, Blondie, had been hurt for four days, according to court documents. Despite the injury, Mr. Colarusso had worked Blondie for five hours that day, Officer Coll testified in the complaint. He then summoned Sgt. Raymond Aviles, a mounted police officer with training in dealing with horses. “The horse had an injury to the rear left leg,” Officer Coll testified, “causing it to have difficulty walking and substantial pain.” Mr. Colarusso was arrested. If found guilty, he could face a fine of up to $1,000 and a year in jail.

It is not the first time Mr. Colarusso has gotten in trouble. In 2010, he was charged with drinking while on duty after being spotted drinking a beer while standing next to his carriage. Two other bottles of liquor were found inside the carriage. He has also been fined for driving his horse through city streets at unauthorized times, failing to keep a daily log and not turning on the lamps on the side of his carriage after dark. CONTINUED.

Note: Tony Salerno, manager of West Side Livery stable, told me that this driver has not been working for West Side for several months and now works for Clinton Stables on W. 52nd St. This is where Blondie lived and most likely picked up thrush.

that is one of our demos in the background

Carriage Horse Driver Faces Animal Cruelty Charges – 12/22/13 – A Central Park carriage horse driver is facing animal cruelty charges after police say his horse was working with a leg injury. Police say they noticed the horse, named Blondie, limping on Wednesday night. Driver Saverio Colarusso is said to have told police that he knew about Blondie’s injuries but continued to drive and work the horse for four days. Colarusso was arrested and faces up to a year in jail if convicted. A spokesperson for the Horse and Carriage Association says that if Colarusso is convicted, it will be the first instance of a carriage operator, owner or stable being found guilty of animal cruelty in the city. IIt may be bad news for an industry that’s seen a great deal of opposition recently, as Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio supports a plan to get rid of the carriage rides.

My comment: The laws governing the trade are barely or not enforced. We believe it was a fluke that Officer Coll was astute enough to notice something wrong. We also believe this happens all the time and no one cares. If there were a posse of NYPD or ASPCA officers out on the job monitoring the horses and not being afraid of a law suit, there would have been many, many more charges of animal cruelty. But a posse is absurd and is not practical or economical. This business simply needs to be shut down and the horses saved.

Please DONATE to our campaign

Throughout December, we are running ads on the backs of 80 public transit buses in Manhattan, spending just about all of our funds. The ads began on December 1st. This is a recent picture sent to us. Because of your generosity, this past year we were able to run ads for several months in local papers. Many people contacted us because of these ads — it was very apparent in the increase in “likes” on our Facebook page – No Walk in the Park. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU SEE THE AD AND SNAP A PICTURE FOR US – coalition@banhdc.orgPlease consider donating to our ban horse-drawn carriage campaign to help us continue to do things like this. We are all volunteer and do not pay any salaries. Every donation received goes into the organization for our newsletter, posters, flyers and advertising. We also donate to horse rescues who are supportive of a ban on NYC’s horse-drawn carriages and special equine need cases. Click here to donate.

new blog

New blog disputing the carriage drivers claims about their stables, and how much they love their horses. Click here.

January 17th – save the date

Senator Tony Avella is hosting a public forum in January to discuss animal protection issues. Senator Avella says “the forum will be an opportunity to hear from animal protection advocates about the many ways we are failing to protect animals in this state and to discuss real solutions that will result in actual changes that impact these animals’ lives.”

• WHEN: January 17, 2014 at 10:30 am
• WHERE: Senate Hearing Room – 250 Broadway – 19th floor

If you would like to testify at the Forum please contact Senator Avella’s Legislative Counsel, Rebecca A. Sheehan, at 718-357-3094. Please note that you should limit your testimony to 3 minutes and please bring 10 copies of your testimony with you on January 17th.

Narrowly avoids accident

A Chicago carriage horse spooked and bolted into traffic – running into traffic. This is the videocaptured by a cyclist. More reason why horses do not belong in cities.

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Also check out Cafe Press to purchase CBHDC merchandise

Through a free registration with iGive, when you buy merchandise on line, your purchase will help us. There are over 700 stores that include such popular ones as Amazon.com, Staples, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble. Even Cafe Press is available if you purchase some of our merchandise. Click hereto get started.On iGive – the name of our organization is “The Coalition for NYC Animals, Inc.” We also have three stores on Cafe Press with great t-shirts, bags, hats, mugs, mouse pads, etc. Purchasing this merchandise helps our organization. Click here.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead.