A carriage horse has been euthanized after a video showed it collapsing in New York City's Central Park over the weekend. The incident has caused a furore on social media, with calls to ban horse-drawn carriages - which are a popular tourist attraction - in the city. The footage, which was shared by the animal advocacy NYCLASS and distributed by <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/carriage-horse-euthanized-after-collapsing-in-central-park/2307707/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CBS News</a>, shows a horse named Aisha unable to stand on its own after collapsing on Saturday afternoon. Handlers can be seen trying to lift the horse, but are unable to as its hind legs appear to be too weak. At one point, an unidentified man is seen blowing tobacco smoke into the horse's face, as it is eventually placed into a vehicle to be transported away. Watch the disturbing footage below:  [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/jmcappiello/status/1233902504435429376?s=20]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/nyclass/status/1234322394954817543?s=20]] New York's mayor, Bill de Blasio has denounced the incident as "painful". Per <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/central-park-carriage-horse-dies-video-collapsing-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CBS News</a>, he said: "We've made real progress in animal welfare but we must go further," de Blasio tweeted Sunday. "The NYPD's Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad is on the case and WILL get answers." The mayor previously made a campaign pledge to ban horse carriages during his first mayoral race. Executive director of NYCLASS, Edita Birnkrant, has since stated that there was an underlying medical issue with the horse, branding its treatment as "abuse". <section class="content__body" data-page="1" data-page-hidden="0" data-use-autolinker="true">Edita Birnkrant, executive director of NYCLASS, believes there was an underlying medical issue with Aisha and called the incident "abuse.""It's very clear that it's not possible for horse carriages to operate in NYC without causing tremendous suffering, cruelty and abuse to the horses," she told the publication.</section> Citizens of New York protested the death of the carriage horse outside the Clinton Park Stable Association yesterday. <img class="size-full wp-image-12583997" src="https://img.vt.co/2020/03/e5ef9b0b-pa-50888984-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1709" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: PA]] However, Christina Hansen, a spokesperson for the NYC carriage industry, released a statement to CBS News claiming that the 12-year-old mare was healthy and most probably suffered from "cardiac arrest". "Animal rights extremists are already exploiting this tragedy to further their anti-horse agenda during our time of grief and shock," she said. "This medical emergency appears to be something that could happen to any horse, any time, anywhere, for any number of reasons, under a wide variety of conditions."

Central Park carriage horse tragically dies after disturbing video shows it collapsing

Top Stories

News

Gypsy Rose's family friends share concerns ahead of her release from prison

News

Influencer who livestreamed night of looting charged with 6 felonies

News

Gypsy Rose believes she didn't deserve as many years in jail as she was sentenced to

News

Dianne Feinstein, California’s longest-serving senator, dies at 90

News

Phones across the whole of the U.S. will sound an alarm on October 4

News

New horror movie is so gruesome viewers are being handed sick bags