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Key Points Melissa Gilbert publicly condemned NYC’s horse-drawn carriage business. She shared videos speaking out against the suffering of horses and supporting a law that seeks to ban the practice. Carriage owners defend their practices, claiming horses live comfortably and receive veterinary inspections. Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert sent a clear message about her views on the horse-drawn carriage business in New York City. On Thursday, Oct. 30, the former child actress behind Laura Ingalls Wilder, now 61, took to her Instagram Stories to repost a video from the nonprofit organization New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets (NYCLASS). 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 In the clip, a veterinarian, Dr. Marc Abraham, spoke out against the treatment of horses seen pulling carriages in Central Park and in support of a NYC Council bill, Ryder’s Law. The bill aims to shut down “cruel and unsafe horse-drawn carriages and make Manhattan streets safer for all.” “You don’t have to be an animal expert to know that having horses pounding the pavement in Manhattan is really inappropriate. It’s loud, it’s busy, there’s cars everywhere, there’s people everywhere,” Dr. Abraham said to the camera. “These horses just shouldn’t be in this environment. They’re prey animals — they’re sensitive, they’re nervous, and they can obviously take off and bolt very, very easily and quickly.” Oops! We’re unable to load this content right now. View directly on Instagram Related: How Little House on the Prairie’s Melissa Gilbert Sparked a 13-Year Grudge With Sherri Shepherd Gilbert’s sharing the video speaking out against horse-drawn carriages in NYC came after posting a different video on Sept. 26 to raise awareness for the conditions horses endure. In the caption of her post, she declared, “This is disgusting and must end. No one should be allowed to profit off another of God’s creatures’ suffering.” Gilbert added, “We need to pressure the city of #newyork #newyork #nyc to end this barbaric practice … These horses deserve freedom. They deserve to be horses!!!” “Many people think that these horses live at Central Park and they’re frolicking on the grass. Not at all. They are never touching grass,” a woman claimed in a video posted by Gilbert in September. “After a whole day of being worked relentlessly, the horses have to go through the worst of New York City midtown traffic to get to these multi-level, old buildings, where they then are placed in these, tiny, tiny stalls. It’s like they’re prisoners in some kind of labor camp.” However, carriage horse owners and drivers have defended the business, arguing that the horses have a “life of relative ease” and are inspected by a veterinarian twice a year, according to the Associated Press.
