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Residents urge action after stable quarantine, critics cite industry oversight failures

City Commission of St. Augustine · February 9, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Multiple public commenters accused a carriage operator of repeated violations, alleged a strangles outbreak and at least one horse death linked to quarantine noncompliance; commissioners asked staff for a comprehensive update and the city announced a temporary carriage-route change due to construction.

Several residents used the public-comment period to press the commission for stricter oversight of horse-drawn carriage operations after a series of incidents and a state quarantine.

"The horse drawn carriage industry in the city has spiraled out of control," Catherine Zoda said, citing a runaway carriage, an injured passenger and a strangles outbreak at the city stables that she said the city failed to document or investigate.

Heather Wilson provided specific veterinary-record concerns and a timeline: she said a quarantine notice from the state for strangles dated Jan. 8, 2026…

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