Lea Michele Embroiled in Horse-Drawn Carriage Controversy
"Glee" star Lea Michele teamed up with PETA to direct attention to an issue about which you likely haven't given all that much thought: the health and well-being of the horses who lead New York City's famed horse-drawn carriages.
Michele is featured in a PSA in which she argues "horses don't belong in NYC traffic" and says "horses in the carriage industry are deprived of everything that makes their lives worth living."
"Imagine for a moment that you're forced to do hard physical labor all day, seven days a week -- whether it's sweltering hot or freezing cold outside," Michele says in the PSA. "At the end of the day, instead of relaxing on [an] easy chair or sleeping in a comfortable bed, you are locked in a tiny closet all night long."
In response, the carriage industry has lashed out at Michele and PETA, claiming that Michele's PSA video is "just filled with lies."
The Horse and Carriage Association of NYC, in a statement to HollywoodLife.com, posits -- among many rebuttals -- that horses never work more than nine hours a day and get a five-week break during the year during which they are "turned out to pasture in the country."
There has been no response yet from Michele or PETA.
Check out the PSA below:
