Liam Neeson targeted by NYC's carriage horse protestors

Updated
Liam Neeson Targeted By NYC's Carriage Horse Protestors
Liam Neeson Targeted By NYC's Carriage Horse Protestors



Hollywood actor Liam Neeson got quite the Easter weekend surprise after a group of protestors gathered outside his New York City home.

WNBC reported that about 50 animal rights activists lined-up outside the actor's condo on Manhattan's upper west side Saturday to protest his support for the city's carriage horse industry.

WABC and News 12 Long Island noted that Neeson interjected himself into the heated debate over whether to outlaw horse-drawn carriages in the city last week when he visited Central Park's stables and penned an Op-Ed for The New York Times titled 'Carriages Belong In Central Park.'

According to New York 1, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio says the carriage horse industry is inhumane and has pledged action to bring the Central Park tours - a tradition in the city for more than 150 years - to an end.

A potential city council vote on the issue has brought supporters from both sides out in full force in recent weeks.

KSDK reported that animal rights protestors outside Neeson's home donned full-body horse costumes and held up signs reading "worked to death" and "horses + plus traffic = death."

In his piece for The New York Times, Neeson noted the carriage horse industry is overseen by at least five regulatory agencies, and that he saw no signs of horse mistreatment during his visit to the stables.

Neeson also urged Mayor De Blasio to visit the stables and see how the horses are cared for before bringing a vote on the issue to city council.

The latest Quinnipiac poll shows 64 percent of New Yorkers favor keeping the carriage horses. Neeson did not emerge from his home during Saturday's protest.

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