DALLAS — A potential ban on horse-drawn carriages in the city of Dallas picked up pace Monday morning with a recommendation by a council committtee. But the owner of the sole company permitted to provide carriage rides in the city says he is confident their 30-year effort will be allowed to continue.
"Are we going to allow for nostalgia to break logic?" Councilmember Adam Bazaldua asked during a meeting of the Dallas Quality of Life Committee. "And that's really the ultimate question here."
Bazaldua cited a long list of complaints and concerns from citizens in his district.
The horses that pull carriages through Dallas and Highland Park come from a ranch in Krum in Denton County. NorthStar Carriage is the only company permitted to provide the service in Dallas.
"There are no safety violations. There are no accident records. There are no animal welfare situations. There's really no reason. It's a business that's been operating in Dallas quietly for 30 years with no incident," said Brian High with DFW Carriages/NorthStar Carriage.
But in the second QOL meeting on the issue since December, councilmembers discussed the possibility of discontinuing horse-drawn operations in Dallas.
"I'm just concerned about this carriage that moves slow, and you've also got a live animal. So that's a variable," said Councilmember Gay Donnell Willis.
"It's not just a danger to the horses but a real public safety issue," said Jodie Wiederkehr, executive director of the Partnership to Ban Horse Carriages Worldwide. "Whether it's regulated or not, a dangerous, serious or deadly accident is a matter of time," Wiederkehr said.
In a Zoom conversation with WFAA, she said she supports a ban on horse-drawn carriages just as she helped accomplish in her native Chicago in 2021.
"Giant, big animals are right next to DART buses, loud music, cars. It's just a dangerous situation," added Gloria Raquel Carbajal with Ban Horse Carriages Dallas.
The vote to recommend the full Dallas City Council consider a ban was not unanimous. Councilmember Paul Ridley prefers the horse-drawn carriages stay a part of the city.
"It's to ban horses on our streets, right?" Ridley asked councilmember Willis of the motion made for full council consideration.
"Yes," Willis responded.
"We just ought to call it what it is," Ridley replied.
"Oh, absolutely," said Willis.
"OK. Well, I'm opposed to it," said Ridley.
"I feel fairly confident that we will be able to continue operating in the city of Dallas. I believe the law is on our side," Brian High told WFAA. "I feel fairly confident that cooler heads will prevail and and the law will be upheld. I certainly do."
A Monday morning presentation to the Quality of Life, Arts & Culture Committee included discussion of a potential move to electric carriages: no horses at all. A few cities on the east coast are experimenting with that option.
"All the benefits, the charm, of this can be accomplished with a more updated method that is more befitting of our road conditions," Councilmember Willis said.
"The horse is the charm in the interaction, 100%," said Brian High when asked about the electric carriage proposal. "And lastly, the cost of these things as well as their safety is all over the map. Some are cheap and you get what you pay for, and some are not cheap but the concept is so new, they do not have great quality standards. All the EC does is check a box for those emotionally charged with their lack of education about horses."
A next date for potential consideration by the full Dallas City Council has not been set.