Ban The Use Of Police Horses At Protests
27,472 signatures toward our 50,000 Goal
Sponsor: The Animal Rescue Site
It is for the safety of the animals and people.
Horses can be trained to do a lot of "jobs", but they're still prey animals - in stressful situations, their natural reaction is to resort to their fight-or-flight instinct.
People have been taking to the streets to protest against police brutality, especially towards Black lives, sparked by the death of George Floyd. While most of the protests start off peacefully, several have quickly escalated into riots, causing people and animals to get hurt.
Some police officers are riding horses into these protests to control the crowds, but this endangers the lives of both people and horses.
In Houston, hometown of George Floyd, a woman holding a sign at a protest was trampled by a mounted officer and his horse. The horse, clearly stressed, tried to step around the woman. A disturbing video showed the incident that led other protesters to react by throwing hard objects - many hitting the innocent horses. [1]
Police horses in Columbus have been hit by rocks, water bottles and fireworks. Columbus Police Sergeant, Bob Forsythe, said, "The horses have been struck. Every horse has been struck at some point." [2]
Dallas Police horse 'Cash' is on the mend after a violent protester threw a brick at his head. [5]
"The big gentle giants don't deserve to be hurt." [3]
Horses trust their human partners to keep them out of danger, but when they feel that their lives are at risk even the most trained horse can bolt. A mounted officer was thrown from her horse during a BLM protest in London after the horse spooked and bolted. The horse fled into the crowd and ran all the way back to the stables. The officer sustained broken ribs and a collapsed lung. [4]
Horses are loyal, smart companions. They shouldn't be exposed to these dangerous situations.
We urge all 50 states to pass legislation that bans the use of police horses at protests.
Sign now and demand immediate action.
1Zamora-Nipper, B. (2020, June 01). VIDEO: Mayor Turner apologies to woman knocked over by mounted officer during protest. Retrieved from https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/05/30/watch-video-captures-moment-police-horse-tramples-woman-during-houston-rally/
2 Crisp, A. L. (2020, June 03). Columbus police horses receiving care after being struck with objects during protests. Retrieved from https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/columbus-police-horses-receiving-care-after-being-struck-objects-during-protests-2020-jun/530-5d9f9739-8af8-4285-8d9c-405d78fda3e7
3 Anderson, N. (2020, May 31). Animal hospital offers free care for police horses injured during weekend protests. Retrieved from https://myfox8.com/news/animal-hospital-offers-free-care-for-police-horses-injured-during-weekend-protests/
4 Kindred & Zeltmann. (2020, June 08). Hero female cop thrown from horse at Black Lives Matter protest suffers horrific injuries. Retrieved from https://www.the-sun.com/news/943224/police-horse-black-lives-matter-protest-london/
5 Johnson, J. (2020, June 03). Police Horse Seriously Injured After Rock Thrown At Its Head (Dallas, USA): International News. Retrieved from https://emergency-services.news/police-horse-seriously-injured-after-rock-thrown-at-its-head-dallas-usa-international-news/
The Petition:
State Governors Of All 50 States:
For the safety of people and horses, please ban the use of police horses at protests.
Horses are companion animals that don't belong in the middle of human conflicts. Nationwide protests over police brutality have led to more innocent people and horses getting hurt.
Horses trust their human partners to lead them in a safe direction, not directly into danger. Peaceful protest can quickly turn into riots, endangering the innocent animals.
As many recent incidents have shown, horses and people are being injured at BLM protests. Stop endangering lives with the use of mounted officers at protests.
We urge you to immediately ban all police horses at protests.
Your swift action is appreciated.
Sincerely,
