NEW YORK – APRIL 15: A horse drawn carriage waits to move outside of Central Park on April 15, 2010 in New York, New York. A new law that passed the New York City Council will require carriage horses to have bigger stalls, five weeks of yearly rest time, and blankets to keep them warm in cold temperatures. The law, which is expected to be signed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, will also raise the price of a carriage ride to $50 for the first 20 minutes instead of the current $34 for the first half-hour. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The Chicago City Council voted on Friday to ban horse-drawn carriage rides starting in January 2021.
Under the ordinance passed Friday, operators will not be able to renew their licenses, and the city will stop issuing new ones, the Chicago Sun Times reported. The city’s 10 existing carriage licenses, each of which has a $500 annual fee, will expire at the end of the year.
The city council's decision was welcomed by animal rights activists who've long been pushing for a ban.
"The Chicago Alliance for Animals is thrilled that Chicago officials finally saw how Chicago's horse carriage operators refuse to self regulate and banned this inhumane, archaic and dangerous relic before a human or horse suffers or dies from this unnecessary activity, like so many have in other cities," Chicago Alliance for Animals Executive Director Jodie Wiederkehr said in a statement.
