Yalda Musleon (Manhattan resident) testifies supporting ban

Hi, good evening.

Is it evening?

Wow, I've been here since the morning.

Oh, I don't need to hold it, that's right.

Well, thank you, Council.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

My name is Yalda Musleon, and I'm an animal advocate based in Manhattan.

So I'm just here as a human being and a resident.

I work in tech.

And I'm also an actor, and I'm very much involved in New York City activities.

And one of my favorite things to do, I live in the West Village, but I, on a monthly basis, will visit Central Park because it's just a nice escape, get the greenery.

But every time I enter Central Park, I just see the horses, and they look depressed.

I mean, we see it.

And it's like, it's so blatant in our faces.

Every single time we enter the park, we see the horses.

They're malnourished.

You can see like the bony ribs.

It's very disturbing.

And I'm like, how is this still happening?

New York, where is the need?

What is the need for horse carriages?

We have modern alternatives, pedicabs, eco-friendly transit, we can walk, that don't require living animals to labor in traffic.

Under New York law, animal cruelty is defined as every act, omission, or neglect whereby unjustifiable physical pain or suffering is caused or permitted.

No carriage ride is worth a horse's suffering.

These are not isolated incidents.

There have been eight documented horse-related incidents in Central Park in the 13 months leading up to Romach Mahajan's death.

Eight in one of the most visited public spaces in the world.

That is not a safety record.

That is a pattern.

It was mentioned earlier, veterinarians describe their basic needs, and it's the three Fs.

Friends, they are social creatures.

Forage, they need to, oh, okay.

Well, I am in favor of the law, and I appreciate you taking this into consideration.

Absolutely.

And horses can't speak.

So we are the voice for them.

And let's ban this animal cruelty.

And I just want to say LinkedIn has an excellent coaching program to support the transferable skills that these carriage drivers have.

Thank you very much.

Next.