Horse Trolley Protest Will Honor Activist’s Memory

PETA to Ask City to Remember Hazel Mortensen’s Heart for Horses and Keep Them off the Streets

For Immediate Release:
October 9, 2020

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Two weeks after the death of longtime Solvang resident and PETA supporter Hazel Mortensen—who campaigned for years against the city’s archaic horse-drawn carriage and trolley rides—PETA protesters will gather at the Solvang Visitor Center to continue her work by pushing for a ban on the cruel trade. They will come bearing treats for the horses—a rare kindness shown to the exploited animals.

When:    Saturday, October 10, 12 noon

Where:    Solvang Visitor Center, 1637 Copenhagen Dr., Solvang

“Life is stressful for the gentle horses forced to pull heavy loads on busy, hot streets,” says PETA Senior Vice President of Campaigns Dan Mathews. “PETA is calling on the city to honor Hazel Mortensen’s memory by outlawing an old-fashioned business that broke her heart and that harms horses as well as Solvang’s reputation.”

Tourists have been upset and disgusted by seeing the horses in Solvang pulling heavy trolleys, reportedly without water or adequate breaks in the searing heat. Because horses are unpredictable and easily spooked, using them for carriage and trolley rides can lead to accidents, injuries, and even deaths when they become startled and run amok. In July, a horse in Charleston, South Carolina, sustained leg injuries and died after he took off running while pulling a carriage—and earlier this year, a horse was euthanized after collapsing in New York City’s Central Park.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.