Graphic Comic Urges Comic Con Fans to Shun Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides

Vivid Posters Blanketing Midtown Depict Spooked Horse Stomping Cab, Pedestrians

For Immediate Release:
October 8, 2014

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

This week, as thousands of tourists flock to the city for New York Comic Con at the Javits Center, PETA and Bluewater Productions will trot out a provocative comic ad urging the conventioneers to steer clear of the city’s controversial horse-drawn carriage rides. The poster, which will be plastered throughout Midtown this week, portrays a spooked horse colliding with a cab and sending panicked pedestrians flying—similar to the June incident in which a terrified horse broke free from his driver and plowed through Central Park into oncoming traffic. The ad can be viewed here.

Titled “STOMPED”―in parody of ads for the percussive musical STOMP―the poster features the distraught horse rearing up above a baby carriage as well as a comic book–style graphic that reads, “Carriage Horses Plus Traffic Equals Disaster!!!” This year alone, 13 children and infants were among the 40 people injured in carriage accidents around the country, including high-profile incidents in Manhattan.

“The poster illustrates how big-city traffic and large, easily spooked animals are a dangerous mix,” says Bluewater Productions Publisher Darren Davis. “We partnered with PETA to show our support for Mayor de Blasio’s efforts to retire the horses.”

This fall, Mayor Bill de Blasio will officially announce his long-debated plans to unveil a bill retiring the horses.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.