Title: The Horse and the Urban Environment
Author: Environmental Literacy Council
A:
- horses defecating and urinating in the streets
- dead animals and noise pollution also produced serious annoyances and even health problems
- sporadic attempts to keep the streets clean
- Thousand of loads of manure were gathered on special "manure-yards"
- to undergo a process of "rotting," and "gangs" of men were employed to overturn the manure and to expose it to weathering
- Manure piles also produced huge numbers of flies
- obvious that the most effective way to eliminate the "typhoid fly", was to eliminate the horse.
- rain created a quagmire, "crossing sweepers", appeared, to help ladies and gentlemen wade through the liquid manure.
- Citizens frequently complained about the "pulverized horse dung" which blew into their faces and houses and which covered the outside displays of merchants
- noise created by horses' iron shoes and the iron-tired wheels of cars
- wagons on cobblestone streets was a constant annoyance
- The average streetcar horse had a life expectancy of about four years
- it was common to see drivers and teamsters whip and abuse their horses to spur them to pull heavy loads
- the carcasses of horses as well as other dead animals and offal from the city's slaughter houses was either dumped in the bay or sent to a rendering plant outside the city
- most large cities contracted with a specific rendering house to take all dead animals
- The rapidity of the change is explained primarily by the incredible technological advantage
- of electric traction in terms of speed in spite of its capital intensiveness
B:
The normal city horse produced between fifteen and thirty-five pounds of manure a day and about a quart of urine, usually distributed along the course of its route or deposited in the stable.Nineteenth century urbanites considered the stench or miasmas produced by the manure piles a serious health hazard, but cleaning was sporadic at best. Manure piles also produced huge numbers of flies, in reality a much more serious vector for infectious diseases such as typhoid fever than odors. Because of the manure on the streets, especially when rain created a quagmire, "crossing sweepers" (like those in London), appeared, to help ladies and gentlemen wade through the liquid manure.Although not as serious a problem as the manure, the noise created by horses' iron shoes and the iron-tired wheels of cars and wagons on cobblestone streets was a constant annoyance. the carcasses of horses as well as other dead animals and offal from the city's slaughter houses was either dumped in the bay or sent to a rendering plant outside the city.
C:
After read this article, I learned be prepared for each jurisdiction concerning work hours, workloads and living conditions, standards of driver training, and passenger safety. Annual examination by competent equine veterinarians for condition, freedom from lameness or disease, and appropriateness of living conditions and transport should be performed and recorded. Appropriate licensing standards should be established and adhered to by local authorities.The veterinarian is the most qualified individual to manage the health care needs of the horse. The owners and caregivers of horses working in urban settings should have a relationship with a veterinarian who can respond appropriately to all emergencies, including those in which humane euthanasia is required.
So What?
rain created a quagmire, "crossing sweepers", appeared, to help ladies and gentlemen wade through the liquid manure. Citizens frequently complained about the "pulverized horse dung" which blew into their faces and houses and which covered the outside displays of merchants
Say Who?
Environmental Literacy Council
What If?
The average streetcar horse had a life expectancy of about four years, and it was common to see drivers and teamsters whip and abuse their horses to spur them to pull heavy loads
T