Philadelphia City Council bans carriage horse businesses

Philadelphia City Council banned carriage horse businesses Thursday. 

In a statement, Carriage Horse Freedom and Revolution Philadelphia praised the move, saying horse-drawn carriages pose dangers in dense traffic and are stressful for the animals.

Horse-drawn carriages reappeared in Philadelphia during the 1976 Bicentennial celebrations, the organizations said. The city's last carriage company closed in 2023.

The ban takes effect June 26. Anyone who violates the new policy will be fined $1,000 per day.

"This new ordinance is more than a policy change," Janet White, founder and director of Carriage Horse Freedom, said in a statement. "It is a moral and civic milestone — one that reflects who we are today and the humane, forward-looking city we aspire to be."

A horse collapsed and died in Central Park earlier this week, renewing calls in New York City to ban the practice. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he supports removing horse carriages from Central Park, and legislation to ban carriage horses is expected to be reintroduced there. 

A startup called FREe-Carriages has been testing e-carriages that use battery-powered "horseless carriages" in Philadelphia in recent years.