Liam Neeson's special set of skills couldn't convince the mayor to change his position on the city's controversial carriage horse industy. Mayor de Blasio declined an invitation to tour a Manhattan carriage horse stable today by the actor and noted carriage horse supporter. Neeson invited the mayor and members of city council to look around a stable today in hopes of proving the horses were well-cared for, a cause he's been championing as much as he has his latest action thriller.
"I respect Liam Neeson a lot, I'm a big fan of his work," de Blasio explained to the Daily News. "But the fact is, I put forward a plan and a vision and the people ratified it in an election and that's what matters most." The mayor promised to end the carriage horses during his campaign, though the ban has yet to happen. Of the City Council's 51 members, only about a dozen accepted Neeson's invitation.
Animal advocacy group NYCLASS has been equally vocal about the carriage horse dilemma, though shouting from the other corner of the ring. The group calls the stables "only one part of the larger problem," pointing to less-than-ideal conditions—including small stalls—when the horses aren't on the streets.
"Spending their lives trapped between the shafts of the carriage and their stalls, is no happy existence for a horse," explains Executive Director and spokeswoman Allie Feldman. "These stables have no paddock for turnout—meaning they don't get to graze, run and socialize with other horses." The group also points to loud traffic congestion that spooks horses as an equally important factor in ending the carriage horse program in NYC.
Others have criticized Neeson's position, but the actor has found a friend in Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon. Fallon called carriage horses "a kind of tradition" and laughed off NYCLASS's suggestion to replace the horses with antique cars. "I'd rather just get humans to pull the carriages, whatever we have to do," he quipped. Only if you pick up the tab, Jimmy.
