In Memory of Lady: Rethinking Animal Tourism and Compassion

Scope: Writing & photography

On August 5, 2025, a 15-year-old carriage horse named Lady collapsed and died on the streets of Manhattan. She had been pulling tourists through summer heat and traffic. Just another shift — until it wasn’t.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her. Lady brought me back to an elephant I saw as a teenager in India.

An Elephant in India

She stood in the shadow of a fort, a silent fixture in the tourist spectacle. A chair was strapped to her back, its cushions worn thin from years of riders. I remember marveling at her size, her quiet presence, the way her trunk curled idly in the dust.

I didn’t understand then. The chains, the stillness, the way she seemed less like an animal and more like part of the architecture. But something caught in my throat — a feeling I couldn’t name. Then the shutter clicked, and the moment was gone.

Tradition, Normalized

It wasn’t that I never questioned it. I did. Even as a child, I felt the weight of it. But I didn’t know what to do. And the truth is, it already felt normal. Expected.

Elephant rides in Rajasthan. Horse-drawn carriages in Central Park. These attractions have been established for centuries — entertainment dressed up as tradition or romance.

But when I look back at the photos I took, and read Lady’s headline, my chest tightens. What once felt like a passing moment now feels like a reckoning. These animals didn’t ask for this. At its core, it’s cruelty — plain and simple — and it’s painful to realize I once played a part in it.

Beyond Blame

It’s easy, in this space, to assign blame. To point fingers at those who run these operations. But that risks oversimplifying something far more complex.

Because this isn’t just about the elephant. Or the horse. It’s also about the people — the mahout, the carriage driver — whose livelihoods are bound to these systems. They’re not villains. They’re often doing what they must to survive within structures that offer few other options.

It’s complicated. But we can’t let that complexity be an excuse for inaction.

Toward Compassionate Change

Some, at least, are working to change things. Groups like Wildlife SOS rescue animals and support the people who depend on them. Because real compassion — lasting change — can’t be one-sided.

It’s a hard truth to face. But that’s exactly why we must. Compassion has to hold everyone in the frame.