Thursday, the co-founder of Def Jam records, Russell Simmons, who has been on a crusade to push New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) to ban the iconic horse-drawn carriages in the city, compared the plight of all animals being consumed and used for work, including Central Park’s carriage horses, to the Holocaust.

Simmons said, “I’m a vegan. I don’t believe in the abuse of animals. I think it’s the worst holocaust in the history of mankind, 100 billion animals born into suffering every year. So, to — the horses are of issue to me, but it’s not the two hundred horses, it’s the larger issue. And as we move toward a more compassionate society — a more conscious society — we should take senseless abuse off the table. Senseless abuse of these horses is not necessary.”

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