CHRISSIE HYNDE - HYNDE LEADS NEW YORK HORSE PROTEST

CHRISSIE HYNDE is fronting a protest on Thursday (31Jan08) against the famous horse-drawn carriages in Central Park, New York. The Pretenders singer married her now ex-husband, rocker Jim Kerr, in one of the carriages in 1984 - but since joining forces with animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Hynde claims to have discovered how cruelly the horses are treated. She says, "Learning about how horses have died in accidents and seeing their pathetic stalls have caused me to change my tune about the carriage horses." New York's Horse + Carriage Association recently hit out at pop star Pink's role in the same PETA campaign, dismissing claims horses are mistreated. Spokesperson Carolyn Daly tells the New York Daily News, "They have specialised shoes for concrete. We haven't had one animal cruelty violation from the three agencies that oversee us."