Who Cares What Happens In Central Park? Maybe WE Should..

Who Cares What Happens In Central Park? Maybe WE should..

I caught an article last week that struck my interest. It was fairly deep into the paper, not front page, but I read every word. It was a story from Central Park in New York City. Now, on a typical day in my life in Oklahoma, I could give a rip about what is going on in Central Park in the Big Apple. But, this particular story sent shivers down my spine. This is the kind of thing that could find its way into Oklahoma. The article said that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is pushing to do away with horse-drawn carriages in Central Park. They want to replace them with “horseless” carriages. Well, as you might imagine if you have followed Don Armes very long, I had a problem with that. PETA’s position is that the horses are not treated properly and lead a mundane life and that it is unfair to those animals. I do not know how many carriages you have been around, but those horses do not have it too bad. Typically they are well fed and well groomed, because if you want people to ride in your carriage, you do not want an old nasty horse standing there. You want him to look good because there is, of course, plenty of competition among carriage drivers. Which, by the way, there are lots of carriage drivers in New York City who are fearing the loss of their jobs over this whole issue.

So, if the horses are well-groomed and well-fed, the only draw back is that they have to live in New York City. Now, personally I would rather have poison ivy than to live there. But, if one must live there, then what better place than central park? PETA all of a sudden thinks that this is bad. The interesting thing about PETA is that the organization gets so much power from famous names and movie stars. Well, in this particular instance, a very well-known movie star, Liam Neeson, stepped out to give his opinion on the matter. You may not know his name but I promise you have seen him in movies. (He was in the recent action film “Taken”.) For once, somebody in a position like his has come down on the right side of this issue. I believe he said that the horses and carriages in Central Park are “iconic”. They have been there for generations and they employ lots of people in that small, but beautiful green zone in the middle of one of the world’s most beautiful cities. So, in Neeson’s opinion, it would take away the charm of Central Park and the tradition of the carriage rides. And, it just would not be right to try to replace something so traditional with a gas-fired buggy. Now, I am sure that PETA will reach into their data bank and pull out one of their big time movie stars to rebut everything that Liam Neeson says. But, most of the time those people know so little about animal welfare and instead play on people’s sympathies who know even less about what a well-treated animal looks like. And, before you know it, somebody listens.

Rest assured, even though PETA and the folks that operate that terrorist sect are wrong, they are not stupid. They know that the target is much easier in New York City than it ever would be in a place like Oklahoma. I remember just a year or two ago when I ran a bill to help incentivize more large animal veterinarians, I actually got a call from the New York Times. When I asked the reporter what I was missing and why the New York Times was interested in the shortage of large animal vets, the lady told me that New York has the same problem. A large number of dairies surround the New York City area but there are not enough veterinarians to take care of all the dairy cattle. I was surprised until I thought about it. Millions of people congregated in one big wad in New York City still have to eat and drink milk. No matter how sophisticated they are, they still have to eat. So, I hope that the dairy farmers in New York and everybody across the United States who is involved in agriculture watches this story with great interest. As we say so often in politics, “it’s the camel’s nose under the tent.” It is like blood in the water for sharks. PETA may pull this off in New York City but as John Wayne said in his movie, John Wayne and the Cowboys, after the outlaws picked on his boys, “We see what you can do with a boy. Let’s see how you do when they come a little bigger.” So PETA, you may pull it off in New York City but I do not believe I would try it in Oklahoma.

I will never forget several years ago when I was in the ag teaching business. My good friend, the late Fred Krasser, wore a t-shirt with the letters P-E-T-A and underneath it said “people eating tasty animals”. That is how we roll in Oklahoma. We are still an agricultural state. We still make our living with animal agriculture and if that changes, we will be sure and call ya. But, I would not count on it.

If you would like to contact me while I am at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call
1-800-522-8502 or send an e-mail to donarmes@okhouse.gov.

And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:

“There's nothin' in life that's worth doin', if it can't be done from a horse." -Red Steagall