Guest guest Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 Sarah wrote - Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone can help me argue against pony rides. Our elementary school has a Halloween Carnival fundraiser planned, and one of the teacher's just emailed stating that she's looked into having pony rides! I've already expressed my heartache about this matter, concern for the animals, not believing in the exploitation of them, etc. but it's being posed as a 'big money maker' - which I'm sad to say, likely will be. As part of the school board, I know how much we need the money. And lots of people on the Board (who will be voting on this) think it's 'such a cute idea'! I've also been reassured that these ponies are well cared for (I don't know the vendor, but have my doubts of course). Any ideas for how to dissuade the group would be MUCH appreciated! Thank you so much, SarahMy belief is simple: the use of another being against their will for our perceived benefit is exploitation.It is a sad life for the ponies to be trucked around and tied up to a merry-go-round in the sun or shade and forced to walk around in circles all day with a child on their back. The underlying message for the children is that the ponies lives and desires are meaningless and the ponies are to be treated however we see fit, especially if money can be made. This is a terrible message to be sending children. Especially in this day and age when children need to be taught to respect the rest of Nature, as their quality of life and survival depend on it now more than ever with the impending environmental crises of Global Warming. Additionally there is a lot of info concerning the connection between a person's disconnect to another animal's misery and suffering and their disconnect to another person's misery and suffering. Teaching children to be apathetic to another animal's misery is bad for our society. What can be done about it? At this stage education is key prior to the pony rides and after. As people quite often don't see the ponies themselves but only see the children enjoying the ride I would suggest videotaping the rides and the conditions and the faces of the ponies as that will be helpful in presenting evidence to stop the rides next year. Foster City city council banned living pony merry-go-rounds about 15 years ago thanks to the education efforts of a then Foster City resident. If people are educated they are open to change.Pat Cuviello Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 Hi all, To those who responded with information to help, THANK YOU so very much! I am so thankful that there is a venue I can come to when I find myself needing to speak out about these issues. I am thankful too that there are many different perspectives even within our own community, and enjoy hearing them - just not when I've asked for the complete opposite support. Below is what I sent; hopefully it will inspire some thought! Not as strong as I would have liked, but hopefully it's enough. The event is this weekend, so we'll see what happens! FW: Hi all, I'm a no vote on the ponies.In addition to not feeling it's a fiscally beneficial investment, I also have ethical concerns about using animals for profit and entertainment. Ponies and horses are not protected by the federal Animal Welfare Act, and therefore have very little protection from exploitation, injuries, and being overworked. For our event alone, each pony would have to be ridden by 32 children, just for us to break even on the cost. The vast majority of these ponies live lives being tethered in small, confined areas and under less than humane circumstances - and once they have been used up, they will be sent to slaughter. I did try to reach Wild Bill to see if he complies with the USDA standards of care voluntarily, but have not been able to find out as of yet. Thanks, Sarah On Wed, Oct 28, 2009 at 12:47 AM, Pat Cuviello <pcuvie wrote: Sarah wrote - Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone can help me argue against pony rides. Our elementary school has a Halloween Carnival fundraiser planned, and one of the teacher's just emailed stating that she's looked into having pony rides! I've already expressed my heartache about this matter, concern for the animals, not believing in the exploitation of them, etc. but it's being posed as a 'big money maker' - which I'm sad to say, likely will be. As part of the school board, I know how much we need the money. And lots of people on the Board (who will be voting on this) think it's 'such a cute idea'! I've also been reassured that these ponies are well cared for (I don't know the vendor, but have my doubts of course). Any ideas for how to dissuade the group would be MUCH appreciated! Thank you so much, SarahMy belief is simple: the use of another being against their will for our perceived benefit is exploitation.It is a sad life for the ponies to be trucked around and tied up to a merry-go-round in the sun or shade and forced to walk around in circles all day with a child on their back. The underlying message for the children is that the ponies lives and desires are meaningless and the ponies are to be treated however we see fit, especially if money can be made. This is a terrible message to be sending children. Especially in this day and age when children need to be taught to respect the rest of Nature, as their quality of life and survival depend on it now more than ever with the impending environmental crises of Global Warming. Additionally there is a lot of info concerning the connection between a person's disconnect to another animal's misery and suffering and their disconnect to another person's misery and suffering. Teaching children to be apathetic to another animal's misery is bad for our society. What can be done about it? At this stage education is key prior to the pony rides and after. As people quite often don't see the ponies themselves but only see the children enjoying the ride I would suggest videotaping the rides and the conditions and the faces of the ponies as that will be helpful in presenting evidence to stop the rides next year. Foster City city council banned living pony merry-go-rounds about 15 years ago thanks to the education efforts of a then Foster City resident. If people are educated they are open to change.Pat Cuviello Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.