WATCH: Mokai Lounge in Miami Beach under fire after video surfaced of a horse inside the nightclub pic.twitter.com/C7Saz3q20aWATCH: Mokai Lounge in Miami Beach under fire after video surfaced of a horse inside the nightclub pic.twitter.com/C7Saz3q20a— Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) March 9, 2018— Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) March 9, 2018
A nightclub has been closed after a “dangerous” and “inhumane” incident involving a horse.
A video shared on social media shows a grey horse being led into a packed crowd at Mokai Lounge in Miami Beach, United States.
The horse, who is ridden by a scantily-clad woman, slips and falls.
The crowd screams and cheers as the horse struggles to regain his footing and the rider is unseated.
The incident took place between Wednesday night (7 March) and early Thursday morning.
On Friday (9 March), Miami Beach city manager, Jimmy Morales issued an order for the club’s business licence to be revoked.
“I was disgusted and offended that any legitimate businessperson would think this was an appropriate action to take,” said Mr Morales.
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“This activity was not permitted, and as soon as we became aware, I immediately instructed staff to act swiftly in remedying this situation.”
Miami Beach mayor Dan Gelber said he “fully supports” the actions taken by Mr Morales.
“[It is] an extremely troubling video that can only be described as insane stupidity and irresponsibility,” he said in a press conference following the incident.
“What kind of idiot would do this to an animal and endanger people’s lives in that club?
“It was dangerous to this animal, it was dangerous to the public and it was inhumane.
“It’s not who our city is. Miami Beach is not the sort of city that would accept that sort of behaviour.”
Miami Beach police chief Daniel Oates added that an animal cruelty investigation is being conducted.
“We have a pretty good idea of where the horse is and will evaluate the condition of the horse,” he said.
A petition has also been launched against the club, which has received almost 3,000 signatures.
“People go to nightclubs to have a good time, enjoy drinks with friends, dance and party,” it reads.
“This environment is by no means a place for any animal or wildlife.
“[It was] not only a danger to everybody in the night club, but the horses wellbeing and safety.
While the rest of us slithered across icy yards and trudged through snow drifts last week, the riders on the
“The question remains as to why a horse was let into the doors of Mokai in the first place, but the answer remains the same, action must be taken for letting this happen.
“Miami is a beautiful and great city where we love to have fun, but we will not support animal abuse.”
Horse & Hound has approached Mokai Lounge for a comment but has not received a response.
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.
