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Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian have been spotted using a horse-free pedicab in New York City’s iconic Central Park.
The celebrity power couple’s choice of a cruelty-free alternative to horse-drawn carriages coincided with two separate industry tragedies, the death of a young passenger on Wednesday and the death of a horse earlier this month.
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According to an Instagram post by the animal rights organization PETA, Barker and Kardashian used the pedicab instead of a traditional horse-drawn carriage during a visit to Central Park with their entourage last week. A short video shows Barker pedaling up front, while Kardashian and one of their children ride in the cab.
Barker has been predominantly vegetarian since he was 13, and has said that he adopted a vegan diet after recovering from a plane crash in 2008. Kardashian has previously discussed her “95 percent” plant-based diet, and has praised the lifestyle’s environmental benefits. Pedicabs and electric carriages represent a cruelty-free, sustainable, and significantly safer alternative to traditional horse-drawn cabs.
“The best way to see Central Park? One that doesn’t put horses at risk,” wrote PETA.
‘Horses are suffering’
Yesterday, an 18-year-old tourist died after falling from a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park. The BBC reported that the driver had stepped away to take a photo of the passengers when his horse bolted and clipped another carriage. The tourist was critically injured and later pronounced dead. No other passengers were hurt.
Last week, a horse called Deniz died in Central Park after eating a toxic plant. The 16-year-old horse was the latest of many animal deaths within the horse-drawn carriage industry. Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, has said that he wants to ban all horse carriages in the park. Earlier this year, he said, “I intend to deliver on that.”
Joe Duplantier, the frontman for French heavy metal band Gojira, recently called for a ban on horse-drawn carriages in NYC this month. “Horses are suffering,” he said.
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NYC must ‘end this outdated industry’
Under the proposed “Ryder’s Law” bill, which is named after a horse who collapsed and died in the summer of 2022, NYC would stop issuing new carriage licenses and phase out the industry entirely over the next two years.
Last year, the NYC City Council Health Committee voted not to advance Ryder’s Law to the full Council, thereby effectively halting that version of the bill from progressing. If advocates push for a new version, Ryder’s Law could eventually be reintroduced.
Writing on X, New York City Council member Shahana Hanif said that the latest incidents “are heartbreaking reminders that horse-drawn carriages are unsafe for both horses and people.” She added, “These incidents are not isolated. We must pass Ryder’s Law, end this outdated industry, and ensure a just transition for workers.”
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