{"id":18189,"date":"2025-10-27T11:45:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T11:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/18189\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T11:45:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T11:45:20","slug":"malaga-spain-bans-horse-drawn-carriages-nyc-campaign-mires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/18189\/","title":{"rendered":"Malaga, Spain bans horse-drawn carriages; NYC campaign mires"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Horse<\/p>\n

\"Horse<\/p>\n

<\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)All New York City mayoral candidates say they favor a ban,\u00a0 meaning none are accountable to horse advocates<\/p>\n

NEW YORK CITY;\u00a0 MALAGA,\u00a0 Spain\u2013\u2013The future of horse-drawn carriages in and around Central Park may not be the biggest issue on the minds of New York City voters in the November 4,\u00a0 2025 mayoral election,\u00a0 a three-way fight among Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo,\u00a0 both Democrats,\u00a0 and Curtis Sliwa,\u00a0 a Republican,\u00a0 but it may be superficially the issue generating the most horse manure.<\/p>\n

All three candidates have reportedly said they favor banning horse-drawn carriages.\u00a0 But so,\u00a0 supposedly,\u00a0 did retiring incumbent New York City mayor Eric Adams, \u00a0who took office in 2022,\u00a0 did nothing to promote a horse-drawn carriage ban during most of his tenure,\u00a0 then announced his support for a ban just eleven days before abandoning his campaign for re-election on September 28,\u00a0 2025.<\/p>\n

\"Bill<\/p>\n

\"Bill<\/p>\n

<\/a> Bill De Blasio.
(Merritt Clifton collage)De Blasio,\u00a0 rats & the union<\/p>\n

Previous New York City mayor Bill DeBlasio even won election in 2013 on a promise to ban horse-drawn carriages,\u00a0 bringing the endorsement of New Yorkers for Clean,\u00a0 Livable And Safe Streets,\u00a0 better known as NYCLASS,\u00a0 but once in office DeBlasio accomplished no more toward that goal than he did toward ridding New York City of rats,\u00a0 another of his ostensible campaign goals.<\/p>\n

(See Nothing for carriage horses, $3 million for rat-proof garbage bags.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

A Zogby Analytics poll of 803 likely New York City mayoral election voters,\u00a0 commissioned by NYCLASS,\u00a0 found that 68% favor banning horse-drawn carriages,\u00a0 including 37% who strongly favor a ban.<\/p>\n

But with all three remaining candidates purportedly on the same side of the horse-drawn carriage issue,\u00a0 the winner will not uniquely owe his election to his position on horse-drawn carriages,\u00a0 and in any event may not have the New York City council votes needed to buck Transport Workers Union support for the carriage industry.<\/p>\n

Transport Workers Union members mostly work for the Metropolitan Transport Authority.\u00a0 Even a brief sympathy strike supporting carriage horse drivers could paralyze New York City.<\/p>\n

\"NYC<\/p>\n

\"NYC<\/p>\n

<\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)\u201cA mare\u2019s mayor?\u201d<\/p>\n

Denouncing leading candidate Zohran Mamdani\u2019s \u201cflip-flopping on the \u2018ban horse-drawn carriage issue,\u2019\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages founder Elizabeth Forel on October 12,\u00a0 2025 amplified \u201cA mare\u2019s mayor? Zohran Mamdani plays both sides in NYC\u2019s carriage horse fight,\u201d\u00a0 published three days earlier by Gothamist writers Elizabeth Kim and Liam Quigley.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn one breath, \u201c\u00a0 Kim and Quigley observed,\u00a0 \u201cZohran Mamdani says he plans to ban carriage horses from Central Park. \u00a0In another, \u00a0he says he\u2019ll form a panel to study the industry before coming to a decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the type of fence-straddling that\u2019s become a feature of the mayoral front-runner\u2019s campaign,\u201d\u00a0 Kim and Quigley opined.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite his lack of firm commitment on the issue, \u00a0the two opposing sides of the long-standing fight each claim Mandami is in their corner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Carriage<\/p>\n

\"Carriage<\/p>\n

<\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)Have stables,\u00a0 will visit<\/p>\n

What Mamdani apparently promised most recently,\u00a0 according to Kim and Quigley,\u00a0 is \u201cto visit the stables myself,\u00a0 and convene an independent panel of medical experts to assess the health of these horses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responded Forel,\u00a0 \u201cThe stables do not provide turnout for the horses.\u00a0 Mamdani probably does not know what that means. \u00a0Although conforming to the law, \u00a0the stalls are too small at 60 square feet. \u00a0He most likely does not know that horses require stalls of 144-196 square feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI doubt he understands the nature of a horse ,\u201d\u00a0 Forel wrote,\u00a0 \u201cand that they are prey animals and will spook at the slightest provocation, \u00a0becoming unwitting weapons with the potential of killing or injuring themselves, \u00a0passersby, \u00a0or destroying property.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recently saw an unmanned carriage, tearing through Central Park because the horse had been spooked.\u00a0 A passenger had to jump off.\u00a0 \u00a0A committee only addressing the \u201chealth\u201d of a horse is not going to reveal this.\u201d<\/p>\n

(See Why Paddy the horse probably wishes he didn\u2019t go to work today <\/a>and NYC mayor Eric Adams endorses bill to phase out horse-drawn carriages.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"Horse,<\/p>\n

\"Horse,<\/p>\n

<\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)Union threatens lawsuit<\/p>\n

New York Daily News reporters Chris Sommerfeldt and Evan Simko-Bednarski meanwhile disclosed on October 7, \u00a02025 that the Transport Workers Union \u201cis making preparations to launch legal action against Mayor Adams\u2019 top aide, \u00a0Randy Mastro, \u00a0and several other politically connected individuals over their efforts to ban the city\u2019s horse carriage industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The threatened lawsuit may go no farther than the last dozen years of campaign promises,\u00a0 but raises a potentially costly hurdle for Adams\u2019 successor if he really tries to get horse-drawn carriages off the streets.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

<\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)M\u00e1laga expedites horse-drawn carriage ban<\/p>\n

M\u00e1laga,\u00a0 Spain,\u00a0 meanwhile,\u00a0 population 595,000 in a metropolitan area of about a million people,\u00a0\u00a0 an eighth the size of New York City but attracting 14.4 million tourists in 2024,\u00a0 almost a quarter as many as New York City,\u00a0 on October 6,\u00a0 2025 made immediate a ban on horse-drawn carriages enacted earlier in the year that was originally not to take effect until 2035.<\/p>\n

Revoking the 25 horse-drawn carriage licenses that were still in effect, \u00a0the M\u00e1laga city council paid each carriage owner the equivalent of \u20ac125,380 in Spanish currency,\u00a0 or $145,520 in U.S. dollars.<\/p>\n

Reported Luis Pavesio for Noticias Ambientales,\u00a0 an international online environmental newspaper published from Buenos Aires, \u00a0Argentina, \u00a0\u201cFor decades, \u00a0horse-drawn carriages have been a common sight in M\u00e1laga, \u00a0especially in its historic center. \u00a0However, \u00a0the negative impact on the animals did not go unnoticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were exhibited in poor health due to exhausting days in intense heat, \u00a0poor housing conditions, \u00a0and circulation in unsuitable urban environments.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NY<\/p>\n

\"NY<\/p>\n

<\/a> The last of the New York City horse-drawn buses, side by side with an electric tram in 1917.\u00a0 (Beth Clifton collage)Damages to the asphalt<\/p>\n

Said M\u00e1laga council member Trinidad Hern\u00e1ndez,\u00a0 \u201cThe horse-drawn carriage model is difficult to fit with the current animal protection regulations and the urban configuration of our city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, \u00a0mentioned Pavesio,\u00a0 \u201cit is estimated that damages to the asphalt caused by horseshoes amount to more than 50,000 euros annually.\u00a0 Something similar happens with horse-drawn carriages in Argentina.\u201d<\/p>\n

Offered A\u00efda Gasc\u00f3n, \u00a0heading the Spanish organization Anima Naturalis,\u00a0 \u201cThis is a great advancement for animal protection in Spain. \u00a0The disappearance of horse-drawn carriages in M\u00e1laga is an example of how change is possible when there is political will.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/a> Carmen Mendez, Montse Ong, and Manel Casas of the Barcelona-based Asociaci\u00f3n Defensa Derechos Animal. outside their office in 2013.
(Merritt Clifton photo)Barcelona<\/p>\n

M\u00e1laga,\u00a0 in Andalusia, \u00a0is the second major city in Spain to ban horse-drawn carriages,\u00a0 following Barcelona,\u00a0 in Catalona.<\/p>\n

Barcelona banned horse-drawn carriages in 2017,\u00a0\u00a0 effective since June 2018 after a carriage horse died on a busy street.\u00a0 The Barcelona ban,\u00a0 however,\u00a0 allowed horse-drawn carriage use during days of \u00a0traditional celebration including\u00a0Els Tres Tombs and the Feast of Sant Medir.<\/p>\n

The exemption brought the death of an eight-year-old horse during a carriage parade on the May 4,\u00a0 2025 200th anniversary of the Els Tres Tombs festival\u2013\u2013and brought immediate protest from Spanish animal rights organizations including Free The Animals,\u00a0 Girona Animal Save,\u00a0 the Partido Animalista Con el Medio Ambiente [PACMA],\u00a0 the Foundation for Advice & Action in Defense of Animals [FAADA],\u00a0 and Police for Animals.<\/p>\n

\"Malaga<\/p>\n

\"Malaga<\/p>\n

<\/a> (Signe Fr\u00f6slee Facebook photo)What will happen to the horses?<\/p>\n

Noted Juan Soto of the M\u00e1laga online newspaper Sur in English,\u00a0 on October 7,\u00a0 2025,\u00a0 \u201cOne of the big questions left to answer after the revocation of the 25 active horse-drawn carriage licenses in M\u00e1laga is what will happen to the animals. The city council has given the license holders one month to leave the stables in Teatinos, \u00a0but the fate of the equines remains an unknown.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there are no changes to the current regulation,\u201d\u00a0 Soto speculated, \u00a0\u201cthe future of each horse depends on the owner\u2019s decision. Many of the license holders have already started to look for buyers for both the animals and the carriages. \u00a0However, the task will not be easy, \u00a0because these animals are used to performing only the carriage service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soto mentioned that some of the horses and carriages might \u201cbe moved to other places such as Marbella, \u00a0Fuengirola, \u00a0Mijas, \u00a0Ronda, \u00a0Seville, \u00a0and Cordoba.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last option,\u201d\u00a0 Soto said,\u00a0 \u201cis for the animals to be slaughtered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Anne<\/p>\n

\"Anne<\/p>\n

<\/a> Anne Blitz. (Facebook photo)\u201cAnne Blitz,\u00a0 from France\u201d<\/p>\n

M\u00e1laga mayor Francisco de la Torre suggested that the horses \u201ccould be integrated into some of the equestrian or riding centres in the city,\u201d\u00a0 Soto reported.<\/p>\n

Said De la Torre,\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cIt is not the same as making the animal work long hours in the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

On October 16,\u00a0 2025,\u00a0 Soto updated that \u201cAnne Blitz,\u00a0 from France,\u201d\u00a0 has made the \u201c\u2018hard decision\u2019 to spend a large sum of money in order to save\u201d some of the former M\u00e1laga carriage horses.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer association, \u00a0Burrito y Caballo Libre,\u201d\u00a0 Soto said,\u00a0 \u201chas already secured two of the former carriage horses. \u00a0One was purchased by her with the help of the group, \u00a0and another by a friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pair are expected to arrive in the coming days at sanctuary A Better Life 4 Horses, owned by Signe Froslee, \u00a0with Blitz covering the cost of their transport.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"All<\/p>\n

\"All<\/p>\n

<\/a> Concordia M\u00e1rquez Garc\u00eda.\u00a0 (Refugio Todos los Caballos del Mundo photo)Concordia M\u00e1rquez Garc\u00eda<\/p>\n

Added Adrian Gamiz for M\u00e5laga Hoy on October 19, 2025,\u00a0 Blitz \u201chad focused her work on the donkeys of Mijas,\u201d but met Concordia M\u00e1rquez Garc\u00eda, \u00a0director of the Refugio Todos los Caballos del Mundo, \u00a0\u201cwho warned me that the coachmen were selling their animals before the stables closed at the end of October,\u201d Blitz told Gamiz.<\/p>\n

\u201cConcordia was one of the main reasons why the carriages were removed in M\u00e1laga,\u201d\u00a0 Blitz said.\u00a0 \u201cShe, \u00a0along with PACMA, \u00a0finally achieved it after years of work,\u201d she acknowledges.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin a few days, \u00a0Gamiz continued,\u00a0 \u201cAnne, \u00a0her association, \u00a0and a close friend raised \u20ac2,900 [$3,373] out of their own pockets and purchased three horses directly from the coachmen.<\/p>\n

\"(left)<\/p>\n

\"(left)<\/p>\n

<\/a> Jose Muriel Salda\u00f1a and Signe Fr\u00f6slee with a rescued Malaga carriage horses who had been working since 2007. (Signe Fr\u00f6slee Facebook photo)\u201cThey weren\u2019t the only ones\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut they weren\u2019t the only ones,\u201d\u00a0 Gamiz wrote.\u00a0 \u201cFactor 3 Event and the A Better Life 4 Horses shelter in Antequera purchased six more horses, \u00a0investing \u20ac8,700 \u00a0[$10,118].<\/p>\n

\u201cIn total, \u00a0nine animals were rescued and transferred to the Antequera shelter, \u00a0where they now live on fourteen hectares of land.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another \u201ccoordinated rescue effort led by Froslee and Concordia,\u201d\u00a0 Soto said,\u00a0 \u201csecured 12 horses.\u201d<\/p>\n

That left at least 40 of the 61 horses formerly used in the Malaga carriage horse trade unaccounted for.<\/p>\n

The Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre,\u00a0 of Rojales,\u00a0 Spain,\u00a0 285 miles northeast of M\u00e1laga,\u00a0 on October 22, \u00a02025 lamented on Facebook that \u201call of the horses have been sold by their owners, \u00a0and we do not know where they have gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

<\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)Will Seville follow?<\/p>\n

Commented Sevilla Secreta editor Ariana Buenafuente,\u00a0 \u201cIn light of the events in Malaga, the political party Podemos Sevilla asks the municipal government to establish a \u2018public and transparent\u2019 debate on horse-drawn carriages in Seville in order to know what the public thinks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seville,\u00a0 a city of about 685,000 people in a metropolitan area of 1.5 million,\u00a0 attracts about three million tourists per year.<\/p>\n

Travel writers,\u00a0 NewspaperArchive indicates,\u00a0 began mentioning horse-drawn carriage rides as an attraction in Seville in 1967.<\/p>\n

\"Beth<\/p>\n

\"Beth<\/p>\n

<\/a> Beth & Merritt Clifton.
(Daniel Leventhal photo)<\/p>\n

The first mention of horse-drawn carriage rides as an attraction in Malaga,\u00a0 however,\u00a0 did not come until 1973,\u00a0 when Moberly,\u00a0 Missouri Monitor-Index publisher Donald W. Reynolds wrote that,\u00a0 \u201cA horse-drawn carriage clip-clopped along the three-mile drive to the main fountain near the cathedral square.\u00a0 The charge was 25 cents and a 10-cent tip that sent the driver into ecstasies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Syndicated travel writer Kim Taylor in 1978 alleged that \u201cThe main mode of transportation [in Malaga],\u00a0 besides walking,\u00a0 is horse-drawn carriages.\u00a0 And every horse,\u201d\u00a0 Taylor claimed,\u00a0 \u201chas a small umbrella above its head,\u00a0 a law in Spain to protect the horses.\u201d<\/p>\n

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