https://www.nola.com/traffic/index.ssf/2018/07/french_quarter_buggy_carrying.htmlWe Are The Coalition Campaigning to Ban Mule-Drawn Carriage Rides in New Orleans LA.

July 13, 2018 From NOLA.com - 

A French Quarter buggy carrying 10 people flipped over Friday (July 13), leaving one woman caught underneath the carriage and a mule on the loose, according to a report by FOX 8.

The buggy was passing the intersection of Royal and St. Philip streets around 3 p.m. when it encountered a commercial shoot for Popeye's. When the driver attempted to back up, the buggy tipped over.

The woman trapped under the buggy suffered moderate injuries, while the nine other passengers sustained minor injuries.

The mule was found alive a few blocks away from the scene 

ANOTHER MULE HAS DIED IN THE FRENCH QUARTER JAN 19, 2015-- The mule was quickly dragged away on a flatbed truck, and the SPCA New Orleans was never notified according to Animal Control officer, Amanda Pumillia. No proper coverage or fanfare was given for the fallen mule in Louisiana.  The only story told, and how the SPCA learned of the mules death was from NOLA DEFENDER-- "Around 9:45a.m., the animal expired near the intersection of Royal Street and Governor Nicholls Street. Witnesses said that the death was quick and sudden. After the driver disengaged the carriage, Royal was closed off. A flatbed pickup arrived to serve as a hearse and the mule was loaded on and then covered with a tarp before being taken away."  http://www.noladefender.com/content/mule-dies-quarter-causing-brief-delays   Mules suffer greatly in New Orleans .. They are not properly cared for... Handlers ride them hard, long distances daily... work in congested city traffic, poor weather conditions, carry hefty people around the city, chained, tired, thirsty, hungry, foam at the mouth, sleep in tight spaces...We ask the City of New Orleans to FORM and SUPPORT A BILL that will PROHIBIT THE OPERATION OF MULE DRAWN CABS IN THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS. Animal activists protest use of mule-drawn carriages in New Orleans - http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/Animal-activists-protest-use-of-mule-drawn-carriages-in-New-Orleans-137353353.html                                      On December 18, 2011 A white horse fell and died in front of 733 Bourbon street, NEW ORLEANS.  The horse went into a seizure, fell, got back up, then fell again and died.  The handler quickly took off the horses saddle and reins...  The handler claims this was not a work horse but several witnesses say he worked the horse hard for 12 hours a day Thurs - Sun. Some often made complaints about the cruelty.  Citizens that know the truth are outraged. FROM:  http://www.nola.com/pets/index.ssf/2011/12/owner_of_horse_that_collapsed.html">NOLA.COM    Owner of  Horse that collapsed and died on Bourbon Street has been under investigation.   The owner of the horse that dropped dead on Sunday afternoon has been offering buggy rides to tourists in the French Quarter for months. At issue is whether he charges for them. The city’s Taxicab Bureau has been investigating Steven Chambers, 51, of New Orleans, after complaints by carriage companies that Chambers, who is unlicensed and uninsured, was operating illegally. The companies also allege Chambers mistreated his horses and did not clean up after them. So far, city investigators haven’t found evidence that Chambers charges tourists for rides, said Malachi Hull, director of the city’s Ground Transportation Bureau. If they determine he has been charging tourists for rides, Chambers could be served a summons for operating without a permit, a charge that can carry up to 90 days’ imprisonment.   Chambers says his horse rides are strictly free. “It’s all for fun,” Chambers, who owns a plumbing company, said Monday. “I don’t take any money for any rides. These horses are not for hire and that’s why I don’t believe I need a license.” But representatives of Royal Carriages, Mid-City Carriages and Good Old Days Carriages claim that every weekend, Chambers is in the same spot in the French Quarter, on the corner of Decatur and Madison Streets. “A guy doesn’t go out in the Quarter all the time and have different people on the cart all the time if he’s not being paid for it,” said Louis Charbonnet, owner of Mid-City Carriages. “It’s definitely an illegal situation.” After the deaths of two horses in the summer of 1980, the city council outlawed horses, opting instead to allow mules, which are hardier, to pull carriages. The company in charge of the horses that died, Le Petite Tours, subsequently lost its permit to operate. The three carriage companies that have complained about Chambers also say his horses looked mistreated, with sores on their ankles, visible ribs and back bones, and dull coats. The horse that died Sunday was 10 years old, which is “way too young to be dropping dead,” said Dr. Allison Barca, the veterinarian advising the LSPCA on the case. Most horses live to around 25, Barca said. The Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has sent the horse’s body to LSU Veterinary Clinic for a necropsy, to determine the cause of death, said Katherine Leblanc, LSPCA spokeswoman. “It’s a shame it had to come to that, but we’ve always looked at the condition of his animals out in the Quarter and they’ve not been healthy,” Charbonnet said. Chambers often brings three horses into the Quarter, the carriage companies said. Two horses pull a two-person buggy and the other walks behind with a person riding on it, which is illegal for licensed companies to do. Patricia Mata, president of Good Old Days Carriage Co., suggested that city investigators haven’t caught Chambers giving tourists paid rides because they don’t work weekends. Hull said the city has received many complaints about horse manure on the sidewalks, and the carriage companies blame Chambers, whose horses — unlike their mules — don’t wear diapers. “He wastes all over the sidewalk, especially on that corner of Decatur and Madison,” said James Lauga Jr., general manager of Royal Carriages. “I’m constantly picking up after him.” Lauga said he and the other carriage companies gave the city photos of Chambers’ buggy rides and waste left on the sidewalk. Hull said the bureau’s investigation is ongoing.