Lea Michele
The last time we saw Glee star Lea Michele she was dropping trou in GQ. Now, the actress has joined People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in a new campaign to rid New York City streets of horse-drawn carriages.
Standing next to a white horse, Michele appears in posters that carry the slogans, "Help Put Horse-Drawn Carriages out to Pasture" and "Horses Don't Belong In NYC Traffic."
Why are horse-drawn carriages such a scourge? As Michele explains on the animal rights group's web site, "Imagine for a moment that you're forced to do hard physical labor all day, seven days a week-whether it's sweltering hot or freezing cold outside. At the end of the day, instead of relaxing on [an]easy chair or sleeping in a comfortable bed, you are locked in a tiny closet all night long."
So is she saying it would be okay to have horse-drawn carriages if the animals got to relax on an easy chair at the end of the day? Ummm, probably not.
According to PETA, "During their workday, these horses are forced into dangerous traffic, where they develop respiratory ailments from inhaling exhaust fumes and debilitating leg problems from pounding the hard pavement." The group is asking people to "Join Lea and countless others in boycotting horse-drawn carriages!"
This isn't the first time Michele, a native New Yorker and vegan, has campaigned against horse-drawn carriages for PETA. She was featured in a series of ads asking residents of NYC to "Say NO to horse-drawn carriages" in 2009.
So it's safe to say she wasn't a fan of this story.
What do you think, are horse-drawn carriages a form of animal cruelty? Would you join the boycott?
Dave McGinn