ASPCA Offers to Find Homes for Evicted Carriage Horses

Last fall the City of New York gave Shamrock Stables—the West 45th Street home to more than two dozen carriage horses—until June 1 to move out. The city-owned property was sold to Gotham Construction for the building of affordable housing that will include a new school, stores and open spaces.

Shamrock Stables has been leasing the lot from the City for below market value for many years. Midtown's other horse stables are already at capacity—and with a scarcity of properties that are close to Central Park and appropriately priced and zoned, the future of these carriage horses is up in the air.

The ASPCA is hopeful that the impending eviction will allow the Shamrock horses to retire. In partnership with NY-CLASS (New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets), the ASPCA has made an offer to Shamrock Stables and the City government to find homes for these horses, taking them off the streets and placing them in environments that have their best interests at heart. This option would put the welfare of the horses first and prevent them from being auctioned off to work farms or where the possibility for exploitation and inhumane treatment is high.

While both ASPCA and NYCLASS advocate for the much-needed and past-due phase-out of the carriage horses and the implementation of a safe, humane, environmentally friendly and economically viable alternative, they are hoping all parties can work in collaboration on the relocation of the horses.

"Even though we have opposing views on the proper treatment of horses, we believe that in this case, we can all work together on their behalf," says ASPCA President & CEO Ed Sayres. "We stand ready to cooperate with Shamrock Stables and the City on this important issue."