NJ Cancels Horse Diving

Atlantic City, NJ’s Steel Pier is canceling the revival of its historical horse-diving show in response to pressure from animal-welfare activists. The controversial event, a popular summer attraction at the pier from the 1920s to the 1970s, was set to return Memorial Day weekend and sparked outrage from animal-rights activists, who circulated a petition decrying the animals’ roughly 40-foot dive into a 12-foot pool. The pier’s proprietor, Anthony Catanoso, says his family canceled the event because it didn’t fit in with their modern vision for the New Jersey landmark’s renovation, but acknowledged the protesters’ impact on the decision, saying, “That negativity—we didn’t want that to interfere with the positive things we’re trying to do.”