LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Two Los Angeles City Council members filed a motion Wednesday requesting an outside equestrian expert assess the health of the horses at the Griffith Park Pony Rides facility.
The motion by councilmembers Paul Koretz and Nithya Raman is in response to an animal rights group relentless in its mission to ban pony and horse rides in L.A.
For weeks, members of the Los Angeles Alliance for Animals have stood outside the attraction with signs bringing awareness to the conditions of the working animals.
The group’s founder Zohra Fahim alleges the facility is committing animal abuse by allowing ponies to work for hours without breaks, but according to the Griffith Park Pony Rides website, their ponies average about two hours of walking or trotting per day.
Raman said they have heard complaints about the treatment of animals at the facility for a while now and acknowledged that there has been some friction between protesters and the concessionaire of the rides.
While Fahim said her volunteers have been nothing but “peaceful” and “respectful” while protesting, Griffith Park Pony Rides owner Stephen Weeks told the Los Angeles Times protests at his facility have hurt his business as children ride around a corral to screaming protesters.
Raman said prior to her motion, the L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks already started the process of hiring an outside expert to evaluate the conditions of the horses. She said the motion is to make the findings of the third party investigation public.
She added the motion also requests research on the inspection processes of other cities that have similar facilities.
Fahim applauded the councilmembers for their motion.
“I feel like it’s a good start in the right direction and I commend them for taking that action to investigate,” Fahim said.
But she believes a ban on the rides is the only way to ensure the safety of the animals and the children who ride them.
Fahim said in July, she claims she recorded footage of the ponies working for seven hours straight in 90-degree weather with no break.
“I noticed on a very, very hot day that these ponies looked exhausted,” Fahim said. “You can look at their eyes and tell they’re completely shut down. Animals walking for seven hours with no break, hooked up to that turnstyle…it’s animal abuse.”
Raman said the report asks that all necessary changes be made to the pony rides, adding that stopping the rides isn’t out of the realm of possibility, but there may be a multitude of options between leaving the rides as is and banning them all together.
“Any of those options will be made public and brought to council for consideration to make sure we’re being held to the highest standards,” Raman said.
She added that the city also has the option of changing the concessionaire but based on the experience with the parks department, Raman said the operator has been “very responsive.”
The pony rides have been in operation at Griffith Park for more than 70 years, according to the business’ website, which also said the facility is regularly inspected and licensed by the L.A. Animal Regulation Department as well as the L.A. County Health Department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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