NEW YORK — The Humane Society of the United States joined New York City Councilman Tony Avella and a long list of supporters  at a press conference today to announce legislation that would ban the inhumane carriage horse industry from the city.

"Horses do not belong on the crowded, congested streets of modern cities and we are asking the New York City Council and Mayor Bloomberg to put a stop to this cruel industry," said Sherry Ramsey, staff attorney for The Humane Society of the United States. "We applaud Council Member Avella for authoring this common sense bill to protect the horses' welfare and public safety. As we have seen far too many times, mixing horses with busy city traffic is a recipe for disaster."

The call for a ban comes on the heels of the recent death of a New York City carriage horse and the recent audit of the industry by City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. The audit showed that there is little oversight of the industry and that the working and living conditions of the horses are inhumane.

There have been a number of accidents and deaths involving carriage horses, both in New York and in other American cities, in the past 10 years. Recognizing the inherent dangers to both animal and human welfare posed by the industry, Paris, London, Beijing and several U.S. cities have banned carriage horses from their streets.

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 10 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the Web at humanesociety.org .