After decades of advocacy, New York City has voted to end horse-drawn carriage rides! This historic victory belongs to the advocates who refused to give up on horses year after year.

We especially congratulate Voters For Animal Rights, which has spent years organizing New Yorkers, lobbying lawmakers, and building the political power needed to finally end this cruel industry. VFAR founder Allie Taylor led the organization for a decade before joining Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration this year as director of the Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare. VFAR President Julie Cappiello has personally fought to end horse carriages for nearly 15 years, alongside generations of dedicated activists.

We are also deeply grateful to NYCLASS and the many advocates and organizations — including In Defense of Animals — who have fought for years to free horses from carriage exploitation.

This victory also required leadership inside City Hall. We thank Council Speaker Julie Menin for bringing the legislation forward, Council Member Christopher Marte for sponsoring Romanch’s Law, Mayor Mamdani for supporting the ban, and the council members who voted 40-7 to pass it.

Romanch’s Law will phase out horse-drawn carriage operations by June 2028 and provide for the horses’ humane retirement.

Today belongs to everyone who stood outside in the cold and heat, contacted lawmakers, testified, organized, shared alerts, and refused to accept that exploiting horses on New York City streets was an unchangeable tradition.

After all these years, the horses are finally getting their freedom.

Ban deadly horse carriages in your state.

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