Advocates and drivers clash at St. Augustine commission meeting over horse-drawn carriages

St. Augustine residents and industry workers traded sharply different views at the City Commission’s public-comment period, with animal-welfare advocates urging the city to end horse-drawn carriage operations and drivers warning of harm to animals and families if the industry is shut down.

Heather Wilson, who said she submitted dated, time-stamped photographs to the city clerk, told the commission the city’s carriage horses are already suffering: “It is long overdue to phase out this cruel, outdated, obsolete industry and to ensure a proper dignified retirement for these magnificent, deserving, sentient beings who have long served the city of St. Augustine,” she said.

Catherine Zoda presented what she described as incident reports and photos documenting noncompliance and safety problems, including a 2023 police report she said described a bolting horse that struck a vehicle and a 2025 incident in which a passenger was injured. “This industry is inherently cruel, inherently dangerous, and plagued by noncompliance,” Zoda said, arguing code changes cannot eliminate the underlying risks.

Drivers and operators disputed that characterization. William Cushion, who identified his business address on Stratton Boulevard, said the operation on his property provides shelter and quarantined sick animals when necessary, disputing claims of systemic neglect: “All of our stuff we have done, and everything the city has asked us to do, we've done,” he told the commission.

At the same meeting, a driver and guide who said she works for Country Carriages described a personal bond with her assigned horse and the economic consequences of ending the industry. “We are not just operators. We are caretakers of the animals,” Christine Lamers said, adding that senior horses in private care depend on income from carriage work.

Carriage employees also raised concerns about threats and harassment on social media. A commenter warned that posts encouraging violent action had appeared on activist-run pages and urged employees and commissioners to consider restraining orders and police protection.

Commissioners acknowledged the competing claims and asked staff and legal counsel to review the materials presented. One commissioner urged the police and the city attorney to examine allegedly threatening social-media posts and the evidence submitted at the meeting.

The commission did not take any formal action on the carriage industry at this meeting. Commissioners asked staff to review documentation and consult the police department and city attorney’s office before returning to the commission with options.