Do you think cities and towns should end the use of horse-drawn carriages, which are primarily for tourists?

I live about an hour north of NYC. Yesterday we drove down with my 4 year old, and when we went past Central Park, she saw the horse-drawn carriages and got excited to go. We parked the car and found many animal rights protesters yelling at the drivers and the passengers, and handing out flyers. I took a flyer.

When we got on the carriage, we asked the driver, who was from Ireland, about the protests and the conditions for the horse. In our conversation with him, we learned that the horses are inspected by a veterinarian twice per year, they get new shoes every two months (approximately), they cannot work in less than 19 degree weather or more than 90 degree weather, they work 8 hours a day maximum, and get two days off per week. The demand for them is only until New Year’s Day, and then the tourists stop coming and the horses get to stay in, and they get several months off per year.

I could see the horse does not need to be hit or whipped or anything, the driver doesn’t even have to steer it, as the horse knows the route (the circuit through Central Park is about 15 to 20 minutes). We were there around 3:45 and the driver said we were his last ride of the day. He said if we were parked up toward where he was taking the horse for the night, he would let us stay on for no charge so he could drop us closer to our car.

There was also an ASPCA police car sitting nearby. The driver said he (the driver) has to punch in and out each day, and the ASPCA cop checks the log to ensure that the horse does not work more than 8 hours per day.

The flyer I got said that the horses get respiratory ailments from the very busy, nose-to-exhaust NYC traffic, one was hit and killed by a car recently, and that it’s cruelty and should be stopped.

There was a bill proposed to end the horse drawn carriages, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg did not pass it.

I was in New Orleans a few years ago (before Katrina) and there were mule-drawn carriages taking tourists around. New Orleans has nowhere near the traffic that NYC has, but probably it’s in the 90’s each day, if not hotter.

I want to add that I am an animal lover and so this question has been plaguing me since seeing the protesters on the street.

Do you think horse drawn carriage rides that primarily serve the tourist trade should not take place?