Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Follow-up On The Carriage Accident

It was a busy week on the carriage front, on Thursday we saw some more media, and coverage included this great clip from A Channel:



Long-time supporter Heather Steel also had her excellent letter published.

As well, there was a story from the Interior of 30 horses from a thoroughbred breeder's ranch who were destined for slaughter because he couldn't afford to keep them.

This exemplifies a core issue: the keeping, collecting and breeding of horses. Not unlike cats and dogs, horses are treated much the same, and the same over-population issues arise. Similarly, if the breeding were to stop, we'd see an end to all horse exploitation, including the carriages; as well as an end to these unfortunate situations where a horse is sent to a slaughterhouse (or a cat or dog 'put down'). Further, is this really just an ultimatum? Isn't the message here 'buy my horses or I'll send them to slaughter?' Feel free to discuss this, or post any of your thoughts in the comments section.

Also, Friends of Animals has started a Facebook page called Carriage-Free Victoria on this issue, join us here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carriage-Free-Victoria/142240729127464

Concluding last week's activities, our volunteers were out on Thursday and Friday, collecting signatures for our petition, handing out leaflets, and speaking to people who are concerned with our city's treatment of animals. Thanks to Sarah Kramer for joining us on Friday and bringing delicious cookies no less! Here's her report on the action including some photos.

Further, on Friday in the Times Colonist there was a piece on City Council reviewing animal bylaws, but there was no mention of the carriages, so we sent the following letter to Mayor Fortin and Councillor Thornton-Joe.

ACTION: please do take a moment to write them as well: mayor@victoria.ca and cthornton-joe@victoria.ca

Dear Mayor Dean Fortin and Councillor Charlayne Thornton-Joe,

Thank you for bringing animal bylaws to the forefront. Friends of Animals will support several of the proposed measures described by Bill Cleverley in the recent Times Colonist  piece, “Victoria to rein in animal care with review of control bylaw.” Notably, we see no mention of the horse-drawn carriages in the article, although they necessitate immediate action from the council. Horse-drawn vehicles should be banned from the streets of Victoria, as an accident last Monday shows: there is inherent danger, as well as an ethical problem, in having horses in Victoria’s streets. It was dumb luck that no people were injured. In a stunning show of insensitivity, the carriage owner said Wes the horse would be back on the street working in a day or two -- after being dragged along Dallas Road by another horse attached to the carriage. What a horror show for visitors of Victoria to have to endure, and what terrible news for the international media to report about our city.

Nor are such scenes unusual when horses and traffic mingle.  A few weeks ago in Iowa, two carriage horses broke free, killed one person, and injured dozens, including children. In New York City last year a horse was killed after being startled and breaking into traffic, and several more horses were injured over the summer. Right now they’re forced to pull tourists around in the heat wave, apparently oblivious to temperature regulations and basic standards of decent treatment.

Victoria would not be the first city to ban the carriages, and could be an example of enlightenment by ensuring the horses are places safely in sanctuaries. Effecting these changes would raise the status of Victoria, and ensure that neither horses nor people can be injured or killed in this ridiculous and antiquated shtick.

On behalf of the international advocacy group Friends of Animals, I request that you address this in your proceedings, and I would also like to know if there’s any way I or the public can participate.

Very truly yours,
Dave Shishkoff
Canadian Correspondent
Friends of Animals
Web Site: http://FriendsofAnimals.org
Victoria: http://TheVictoriaVegan.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2496490922
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/FoA_Victoria
FoA Vegan Starter Guide PDF: http://bit.ly/foa-vsg

Monday, July 26, 2010

Discussing Animal Group Fundraisers That Serve Animals

James LaVeck, from Tribe of Heart (producers of the wonderful films The Witness and Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home) was approached by someone concerned about an animal advocacy group hosting a fundraiser event that was serving animal products.

This is not an uncommon dilemma, I have personally withdrawn support from the BC-SPCA because of this, as has Sarah Kramer (open letter from Sarah, and a follow-up.) They continue to host these types of events, and will have vegan 'options'.

James is very eloquent in how he approaches this dilemma, and I encourage all to watch:


Silencing the Lambs from Tribe of Heart on Vimeo.

Hopefully these other groups will begin to listen, and we can all work towards real, meaningful animal advocacy together.

Dave Shishkoff
Canadian Correspondent
Friends of Animals
Web Site: http://FriendsofAnimals.org
Victoria: http://TheVictoriaVegan.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2496490922
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/FoA_Victoria
FoA Vegan Starter Guide PDF: http://bit.ly/foa-vsg

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Monday Night Carriage Accident on Dallas Road

On the evening of Monday, July 19th, there was an accident with the horse-drawn carriages down on Dallas Rd., highlighting the public safety risk inherent when horses are forced to pull carriages in urban environments.

I've been campaigning specifically on this issue for four years now, and spoken with hundreds of people from James Bay, and one thing is clear: these are not rare events - and occur nearly every month, although they’re rarely covered or reported on. Check out our campaign page with lots more info on the subject. 1/3rd of the people I surveyed in James Bay had personally witnessed some kind of incident, or a horse in distress. Have you?

Back to Monday's accident: you can read a very short (and rare) Times Colonist report here (another report here) and the TC also features a couple photos from the crash:

Photo credit: Bradley Pompu
I'm told that Chester, one of the two horses pulling this carriage, was spooked and started running, dragging Wes (pictured). There's a CHEK TV video report on as well, visit www.cheknews.ca - see 'Carriage Horse Crash'. (I'm disappointed they left out my name and credentials in the report.)

This is an awful event to hear about, and will reoccur so long as there are horses on the street - which is no place for them!

I can certainly imagine a much better life for them than this, and Friends of Animals is calling on the carriage companies and City of Victoria to see these horses retired to sanctuaries, where they can live out their lives in peace. You can read the inspiring story of one such horse, Bobby, who was rescued from a slaughterhouse, and is now assured a safe and happy life.

Please help out by making this a topic of conversation! Take some time to talk to people about the issue; one common remark I hear repeatedly is 'oh, I've never thought about this...'

City Hall needs to hear from you as well. Send an email to councillors@victoria.ca and tell them what you think. They have been very lax in responding, so be sure to tell them you want to hear back on this. Keep writing them until they do. These horses need your voices. Tell your friends as well, feel free to send them this link, and post this (and your own thoughts) on Facebook and Twitter. Write Letters to the Editor to the Times Colonist, Victoria News and Monday Magazine.

Finally, we distribute leaflets and collect signatures for our petition nearly every week down on Belleville, across from the carriages. If any of our activists have a spare hour during the week between 11am and 2pm, we'll meet up and give out info. Email me if you'd like to join us! I can provide signs and literature:


Also check out Horses Without Carriages International for lots more info on this subject, and thank you for helping us to achieve a carriage-free Victoria!

Dave Shishkoff
Canadian Correspondent
Friends of Animals
Web Site: http://FriendsofAnimals.org
Victoria: http://TheVictoriaVegan.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2496490922
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/FoA_Victoria
FoA Vegan Starter Guide PDF: http://bit.ly/foa-vsg

First Post!

Greetings, and welcome to the new blog edition of The Victoria Vegan!

We hope to offer the same great stories, reviews and updates, all from the convenience of your browser! And with the Comments section, readers are welcome to post their comments and interact.

Be sure to 'follow' us on the right, new items should begin to appear soon.

Peas out!

Dave Shishkoff
Canadian Correspondent
Friends of Animals