The Diving Horse has finally been put out to pasture for good. Add one more victory for animals to the list!
As everyone knows, True Blood’s Pam, Krisin Bauer van Straten is an avid Animal Rights Advocate and she was one of the many celebrities who protested agains the plans to reopen the diving house shows that were part of Atlantic City’s Steel Pier from the 1920′s through the 70′s.
In just one day after starting a petition on Change.org, over 10,000 people had signed. The word spread fast, thanks to a Facebook event page started by Bob Timmons and joined by over 900 people. Soon, celeb animal advocates including Simone Reyes, the Barbi Twins, John Bartlett, Kristin Bauer, Joanna Krupa and Our Hen House had also joined in by signing and sharing. Pulin Modi, senior organizer at Change.org said the petition was being signed so quickly that the signature count couldn’t keep up!
The owner of Atlantic City’s Steel Pier now says he’s dropping a plan to bring back the legendary attraction, which featured a horse and a rider plunging into a 12-foot-deep water tank from a platform 40 feet in the air, after animal-welfare activists lodged fierce criticism.
Anthony Catanoso, whose family owns the historic pier, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he’s no longer interested in reviving something that helped make the pier world famous in the last century.
“We just felt that since Atlantic City is moving forward, we should move forward with it,” he said. “We should create new memories for visitors instead of recreating old ones.”
Catanoso revived the act once before, in 1993, but shut it down after two months following similar protests from animal-welfare activists.
He had envisioned the Diving Horse as the centerpiece of a refurbished Steel Pier, part of an overall makeover of the gambling resort being planned by local and state officials. He downplayed the significance of public opposition in the latest decision to pull the plug on the Diving Horse but acknowledged that the protests did take their toll.
“That negativity — we didn’t want that to interfere with the positive things we’re trying to do,” he said.
Roseann Trezza, executive director of the Associated Humane Societies in New Jersey, said she was delighted with the change in plans.
“You have people trying to make a buck off the backs of animals, and it’s really cruel exploitation,” she said. “Everybody worked together against that, and I am so happy to see that happen.”Catanoso proposed reviving the act earlier this month when a massive redevelopment plan for Atlantic City’s Boardwalk, casino district and shopping areas was unveiled. But within days, animal-welfare activists were voicing opposition.
The Humane Society of the United States said its members “emphatically oppose equine diving acts.”
“This is a merciful end to a colossally stupid idea,” society president Wayne Pacelle said. “We are pleased so many citizens spoke up and urged that this spectacle never get off the ground. Horse diving has the potential to frighten and injure and kill horses, and it rightly belongs in Atlantic City’s history books.“
Although the Diving Horse was the most attention-getting aspect, the Steel Pier is undergoing a $100 million renovation that will take 3 1/2 years and will make it a year-round attraction. Some work is already under way. This summer, there will be six new rides, several new games, beer gardens, new food and beverage kiosks and a resurfacing of the pier floor.
source: ecorazzi.com and abcnews.go.com
