16-year-old carriage horse dies in New York City's Central Park

NEW YORK -- A 16-year-old carriage horse died in New York City's Central Park on Tuesday, police confirmed.

Police said a deceased horse was reported in the vicinity of Central Park West and 72nd Street at 7:29 p.m. The carriage had two passengers at the time of the incident.

"I was going on a run and I saw a horse on the floor struggling to breathe, and then the poor horse stopped breathing," Clara Bermudez said.

Transport Workers Union Local 100 said the horse, Deniz, was beloved by his caretakers. They said he was last seen by the NYPD Mounted Unit's veterinarian in March and was found to be fit.

"Sadly, horses, just like other domesticated animals, have catastrophic and sudden health incidents," Eric Loegel with TWU Local 100 said.

Deniz will be taken for a full necropsy by the pathology department of Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine to determine the cause of death.

It's a contentious divide between animal rights groups and those who support horse drawn carriages.

"I just was walking my dog and see a dead horse on the path on my walk home. And again, this is the second incident that I've seen in 10 months," Danielle Leean Chin said.

"For these people to come and just accuse him of mistreating his animal, that helps him feed his children is revolting," Christine Hansen said.

PETA Director Ashley Byrne responded to the incident with a statement saying, "If City Council needed a sign that the time is now to pass Ryder's Law, this is it. How many more horses must collapse and die on New York City streets before this deadly horse-drawn carriage industry is put out to pasture?"

Animal Rights Groups have been trying to ban carriage rides for years.

Even before this latest casualty, they were planning a rally at city hall for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the rides remain a popular attraction for tourists.