PETA Press Release (April 29, 2020) — CHICAGO. A Hero to Horses Award is on its way from PETA to Jodie Wiederkehr—the executive director of the Chicago Alliance for Animals and founder of the Partnership to Ban Horse Carriages Worldwide—for leading the charge to end the use of horse-drawn carriages citywide, which the Chicago City Council did in a landmark decision on April 24 to take effect next year.
For more than three years, Wiederkehr and the Chicago Alliance for Animals documented that horses were frequently denied water and forced to pull carriages in heavy traffic through extreme heat, thunderstorms, and blizzards. She lobbied lawmakers to support the ban, and now that it’s passed, she is liaising with reputable sanctuaries to arrange homes for the horses—if their owners choose to grant them a peaceful retirement.
“Horses have a true ally in Jodie Wiederkehr, whose unwavering commitment and compassion have helped make Chicago the largest city in the country to shut down the cruel carriage industry,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is recognizing her for getting sensitive horses off the streets and for making the Windy City a more humane place for animals.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview— hopes this will now ramp up the pressure on New York City, where a horse used for carriage rides died in Central Park earlier this year.
Wiederkehr will receive a framed certificate.
We are grateful PETA have honored Ms Wiederkehr. She is not receiving due credit for her work in Chicago. She accomplished this; no one else. Follow Jodie Wiederkehr on Twitter https://twitter.com/jodiewiederkehr.
Note: The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2021.
Featured Image: Getty Images. Not filed with this Press Release.
Tuesday's Horse 
Please tell me where the “thousands of dollars” came from? Jodie has a job to support herself and does not live on donations that have, as yet to materialize………
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much Tuesday’s Horse & Fund for Horses!
To anyone concerned about the horses, CAA will do EVERYTHING we can, including fundraising, to get the horses exploited on Chicago’s streets the sanctuary they deserve.
We will be reaching out to horse rescues and sanctuaries and urging them to reach out to the owners to offer a loving, forever home for a horse or two. Obviously, the owners don’t like us much, but hopefully they’ll love their horses enough to do the right thing and allow them to retire and have the natural life they so richly deserve after giving years, if not decades, working on Chicago’s streets.
However and unfortunately, horses are considered property, so we will try our hardest, but their ultimate fate lies in what the owners decide.
Should the owners choose to work with animal advocates and/or sanctuaries/rescues dedicated to protecting horses, I am quite confident we could find good homes for these horses.
If they end up at auctions or in slaughterhouses, that will show you just how much the owners truly care.
The victory is that there will no longer be a pipeline for horses to be abused and worked into the ground and then put on slaughter trucks.
LikeLike
Horses need exercise the same way humans do to be healthy! Taking healthy horses away from owners that actually practice animal husbandry is a shame! Shame on you, Jodie. This “activist” collected thousands of dollars on behalf of these horses and never contributed any of it to their placement in new homes! Horses cost money to care for properly and Jodie has not helped these horses in any way including financially. Where did the donations go, Jodie?
LikeLike
How do you know how much the lady in question has collected or received, or where she has or will spend any of those dollars? If you have no foundation for your claim, you could be putting yourself in a very awkward position, so be careful what you say in a public forum such as this. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What Sanctuaries? We are all wanting to know so horses can be safe.
LikeLike
Kudos to Jodie! Her commitment to the horses is truly inspirational.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yessss!
LikeLiked by 1 person