Q&A
Council member questions Edita Birnkrant about animal cruelty reporting
4:03:45
·
3 min
Council Member Robert F. Holden engages in a Q&A session with Edita Birnkrant about her experiences reporting animal cruelty, particularly concerning carriage horses. Edita describes the challenges and ineffectiveness of the current reporting system.
- Edita characterizes the reporting process as a 'complete fiasco'
- She highlights issues with NYPD's animal cruelty squad and the Department of Health's inspections
- Edita advocates for shutting down the carriage horse industry and urges support for Ryder's Law
Robert F. Holden
4:03:45
I just wanna Thank you, first of all, for your work with the carriage horses, and and all of you for your work on behalf of animals.
4:03:54
I just wanted to ask Editha, regarding the your complaints about because I know I'm always looking at your videos, which are great.
4:04:02
Where you're showing horses that are struggling.
Gale A. Brewer
4:04:04
Mhmm.
Robert F. Holden
4:04:05
And, you know, we had a very hot summer, very humid summer, and you you kept pointing it out.
4:04:10
Tell me your experiences with the Department of Health.
4:04:12
We hear earlier.
4:04:13
I don't know if anybody's here representing the Department of Health.
4:04:17
But what is your experience?
4:04:18
They are.
4:04:19
Right?
4:04:20
They are.
4:04:20
Okay.
4:04:20
Good.
4:04:21
That's we're we're ahead of the game.
4:04:22
Mhmm.
4:04:23
Can you tell us about your experiences?
4:04:25
Not only with Department of Health when you make a complaint, but the NYPD animal cruelty.
4:04:31
It's
Edita Birnkrant
4:04:32
To sum it up, it's a complete fiasco.
4:04:35
That's putting it mildly.
4:04:36
So reporting things to the NYPD is an exercise in futility.
4:04:42
The system is broken.
4:04:44
When you you cannot access the cruelty squad directly.
4:04:48
Even if you are watching cruelty happening, you have to call 911, and then you're at the mercy of officers who, through no fault of their own, don't even know often that they are required to enforce the animal cruelty laws.
4:05:01
They don't know.
4:05:02
They're not trained in it.
4:05:03
So you can't have a handful of officers that are only trained, and the public can't access them.
4:05:11
So it's basically a fiasco.
4:05:12
What I do is I report things through the online system.
4:05:15
It as others have said, it's immediately closed.
4:05:18
But at least you have a paper trail.
4:05:20
But as far as the DOH saying that they're in the stables inspecting these horses, like I said, we have cancer ridden elderly horses where their ages were forged that are getting clean bill of health.
4:05:31
It's only the industry vets that are checking on these horses.
4:05:35
And even when I send constant videos of lame injured, horses with their ribs sticking out, we can barely get the DOH to even require their vet to check the horses out.
4:05:46
So this is why when I say that the city is enabling and rubber stamping the abuse criminal abuse of horses, this is the reality.
4:05:54
So this is why we need to shut it down.
4:05:56
And so we have a here a bill in this committee.
4:06:00
I understand that there might be pushback because of union corruption with the transport workers union local 100 representing abusive owners like Ian MacKinnon heever.
4:06:11
The carriage drivers have no union benefits.
4:06:13
They're being screwed over and exploited just like the horses.
4:06:17
So please don't let a union representing owners at the expensive workers, at the expensive horses bully you from SUPPORTING THE BILL THAT 70 1 percent OF NEW YORKERS WANT.
4:06:28
AT LEAST HOLD A HEARING THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEMBERS SHOWMAN YOU PROMISED TO SIGN ON TO THIS BILL.
4:06:33
I UNDERSTAND YOU MAYBE YOU'RE GETTING PRESSURE.
4:06:35
NOT ONLY HAVE YOU NOT SIGNED ON TO Ryder'S LAW, you won't even hold a hearing as a criminal abuse trial against the business is happening a few blocks away.
4:06:44
What is it gonna take?