Current:Home > ScamsNYC carriage driver shown in video flogging horse is charged with animal cruelty -AdvancementTrade
NYC carriage driver shown in video flogging horse is charged with animal cruelty
View
Date:2025-04-18 07:46:32
NEW YORK (AP) — A carriage horse driver was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty on Wednesday, more than a year after his frail, ill horse collapsed on the streets of Manhattan, prosecutors announced.
Ian McKeever, 54, was arraigned on a charge of overdriving, torturing and injuring an animal or failure to provide proper sustenance for his treatment of the horse, Ryder, on Aug. 10, 2022, when it collapsed during the evening rush hour and lay on the street.
Video published by the New York Post showed McKeever pulling on Ryder’s reins and flogging the horse with a whip.
According to the criminal complaint, McKeever had been working Ryder since 9 a.m. when the horse collapsed in 84-degree (29-degree Celsius) weather.
Once Ryder was down, McKeever didn’t give the horse any water, prosecutors said.
A police officer removed Ryder’s harness and put ice and cold water on the horse for 45 minutes until he was able to stand up, District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a news release.
McKeever told police that Ryder was 13 years old, but a veterinarian who later examined the horse estimated his age at 26 and said Ryder suffered from health issues including pancytopenia, a condition that causes decreased blood cell levels.
“As alleged, Ryder should not have been working on this hot summer day,” Bragg said. “Despite his condition, he was out for hours and worked to the point of collapse.”
Ryder was euthanized two months later because of his poor health.
McKeever’s attorney, Raymond Loving, didn’t immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.
Ryder’s death became a rallying cry for animal welfare advocates who have long pushed to ban the horse-drawn carriages that ferry tourists around Central Park.
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio promised to retire the carriage horses during his 2013 campaign, but they are still on the job.
veryGood! (919)
Related
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Chris Christie ends 2024 presidential bid that was based on stopping Donald Trump
- DeSantis and Haley jockey for second without Trump and other takeaways from Iowa GOP debate
- North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein has raised $5.7M since July, his campaign says
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Alaska Airlines cancels all flights on 737 Max 9 planes through Saturday
- Despite December inflation rise, raises are topping inflation and people finally feel it
- Trump's legal and political calendars collide less than a week before Iowa caucuses
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- Friendly fire may have killed their relatives on Oct. 7. These Israeli families want answers now
Ranking
- Average rate on 30
- Greta Gerwig, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese receive Directors Guild nominations
- US applications for jobless benefits fall to lowest level in 12 weeks
- New list scores TV, streaming series for on-screen and behind-the-scenes diversity and inclusion
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- Summer House Trailer: See the Dramatic Moment Carl Radke Called Off Engagement to Lindsay Hubbard
- Google should pay a multibillion fine in antitrust shopping case, an EU court adviser says
- Third arrest made in killing of pregnant Texas teen Savanah Soto and boyfriend Matthew Guerra
Recommendation
Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
Running from gossip, Ariana Madix finds relief in Broadway’s salacious musical, ‘Chicago’
In his 1st interview, friend who warned officials of Maine shooter says ‘I literally spelled it out’
2024 People's Choice Awards: Complete List of Nominees
Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
Bill Belichick's most eye-popping stats and records from his 24 years with the Patriots
Nelson Mandela’s support for Palestinians endures with South Africa’s genocide case against Israel
For Dry January, we ask a music critic for great songs about not drinking