Philadelphia made history last week when City Council voted to formally ban horse-drawn carriage rides.
Although the city’s last carriage company closed in 2023, non-commercial carriages around the city prompted action from Council to make the protection for horses official. This ban closes the door permanently and reflects a growing recognition that using horses for urban tourism causes real harm.
Horse-drawn carriages raise animal welfare concerns and public safety risks
Horses pulling carriages through busy city streets face routine stress and serious risks. They work in traffic, on hard pavement, in heat, and under conditions that put enormous physical strain on their bodies.
As sensitive, social animals, they are not suited for navigating the increasingly busy, noisy, and unpredictable streets of a modern city. Horses becoming afraid and bolting also creates a safety risk for both horses and humans.
The urgency of this issue has been made painfully clear with devastating recent incidents. On Wednesday, a teenager lost his life after falling from a horse carriage in New York’s Central Park. What should have been a relaxing family vacation ended in tragedy when a horse bolted and the young man hit his head trying to help his fallen mother.
The incident renewed calls for a ban on horse carriages in New York City, with advocates pointing to back-to-back incidents this month. Last week, a horse collapsed and died near Central Park.
Previous incidents in Vancouver’s Stanley Park in 2016 and in Victoria in 2018, 2023, and 2024 have also drawn attention to the issue locally.
Vancouver still allows horse carriages on busy city streets
Horse-drawn carriage rides continue to operate at events in busy, high-traffic commercial districts of Vancouver, such as Kerrisdale and Commercial Drive.
Other major cities, including Chicago, Montreal, and now Philadelphia, have moved away from this practice as public understanding of horse welfare has grown.
How can you help?
If you have not yet done so, please sign the Vancouver Humane Society’s petition to support a ban on horse-drawn carriage rides on Vancouver’s busy city streets.
You can also help by encouraging friends and family to choose horse-free tourism options, or by sharing the VHS’s posts about this important issue on Facebook and Instagram.
Philadelphia’s decision is a reminder that cities can and do change when residents speak up. Vancouver can be next.