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For decades, Griffith Park Pony Rides and Petting Zoo forced elderly ponies to carry riders for hours in extreme temperatures, including 100-degree heat, often without adequate access to water or shade. In 2022, the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks announced that the contract for Griffith Park Pony Rides and Petting Zoo would not be renewed, after it received calls and e-mails from kind members of the public like you! Unfortunately, we are told that it’s under pressure to bring in another contractor to provide pony rides or another type of “animal encounter.”
Please contact the commissioners and let them know that there is no acceptable option for a concession featuring animals. The city has neither the time nor the other resources to monitor the treatment of animals at such an exhibit—as we saw with Griffith Park Pony Rides and Petting Zoo, this lack of oversight allowed the vendor to further exploit and neglect the animals. According to a report from an independent equine expert, the exhibitor didn’t even meet the minimum standards of care and lacked veterinary records. The ponies suffered from untreated mouth and teeth problems, hoof ailments, saddle sores, and lameness but were still forced to work until the public and legislators intervened.
It’s inherently cruel to force ponies to plod in endless circles while carrying riders on their back and to force animals in petting zoos to interact with strangers who continuously invade their personal space and touch them. Animal exhibits are a danger to public health and teach children the harmful message that animals are ours to dominate and exploit. Please join PETA in urging the Department of Recreation and Parks to commit to a non-animal concession in the park, in which no more animals would be abused or exploited for entertainment.
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