Pony rides to disappear from Farmers’ Market

CITY HALL - Avoiding the use of idioms about dead horses being beaten, we will note that it was after 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning when City Council voted to move away from allowing pony rides and petting zoos at the Main Street Farmers' Market.
In a 4 to 0 vote, council asked City Hall to pursue a non-animal related vendor at the market when the current vendor's contract expires.
Former congressional candidate Marcy Winograd has been protesting the pony rides and petting zoo, which have been run by Tawni Angel for more than a decade.
Winograd claims that the use of tethers, which guide the animals, is cruel. She claims they are overworked and unhappy at the market. At the council meeting, she compared the practice to slavery.
At the meeting, Angel said these claims are inaccurate. She defended her business, noting that she often encounters kids who don't know the difference between a goat and a cow.
Laura Avery, a spokesperson for the Farmers' Market, vouched for Angel's responsible care of the animals. Avery noted that the markets' original documents explicitly mention the inclusion of pony rides and petting zoos.
Council members noted that they'd received no proof that animals have been mistreated at the market.
Councilmembers Gleam Davis and Ted Winterer, who sponsored the agenda item, said that the decision has nothing to do with Angel, but with the protest surrounding the issue.
"It's become an issue in the community and therefore I thought, along with Councilmember Winterer, I think that it was important to bring it up and have this discussion," Davis said, "rather than have it fought out on the grounds of the Farmers' Market every Sunday where there were conflicts."
Winterer concurred: "It doesn't sit well that people are going to our Farmers' Market and being unhappy with what they see."
Winograd has launched a full-fledged attack on Angel's business - protesting at the Farmers' Market, shedding light on Angel's expired business license (since remedied), and citing comments and videos posted on the Facebook pages of Angel and her husband.
Councilmember Kevin McKeown called attacks against Angel "unfair and unkind."
"I certainly hear the many people are disturbed by the pony rides," he said. "I'm also disturbed, though, by the demonization of Tawni Angel and her ponies. When Ms. Winograd contacted me about this issue, which I think is now some months ago, and several times since, I've checked into the conditions and been assured, not just by city staff but by others, that no cruelty laws were being violated."
McKeown, a vegetarian, noted that, while he might agree with a decision to stop pony rides at the Farmers' Market, he is wary of the process, which, he said, gives power to the attack-based protest against an individual.
"I'm very open to the idea that maybe we do want to transition away, just as I hope that we transition away from eating animals," he said.
Angel's contract expires in May of next year. Council directed Farmers' Market officials to fill the space by either requesting proposals from non-animal related vendors, or by continuing a pilot program that involves food preparation classes.
They gave direction to city officials to explore the inclusion of pony rides at other locations, like Virginia Avenue Park, where there is more available space.
Mayor Pam O'Connor was absent from the meeting. Mayor Pro Tempore Terry O'Day and Councilmember Bob Holbrook left the meeting before the item began.
dave@www.smdp.com