NEW YORK - The animal rights group behind banning horse drawn carriages in the Big Apple is calling it quits.
NYCLASS says it's instead shifting focus towards protecting horses in the industry.
The group says it plans on working with elected officials on removing horses from dangerously congested areas of Midtown.
The City Council failed to pass legislation last year, aimed at keeping horses off the streets.
Mayor Bill de Blasio had promised to shut down the industry on day one of his administration and was an issue that highlighted the 2013 mayoral election.
The Horse and Carriage Association released a statement on the move saying in part, "It’s nice that NYCLASS is not pursuing a ban but they really shouldn’t be pursuing anything at all. They claim that they still want all these compromises and concessions when there’s nothing with our business that needs to be fixed and all of the so called compromises would really add to a ban. They just need to go away."