Petition started to take wounded horse away from Census Cowboy

Hollingsworth, is known as the "Census Cowboy" and the "Dreadhead Cowboy", took the injured horse for a seven mile run on Chicago's Dan Ryan Expressway on Monday in a social justice protest.

The horse collapsed after the ride and was taken in for medical attention. According to WTTW News, veterinarians compared Nunu's cruel ride with "forcing an 80-year-old woman to run a full marathon."

They reported that the horse came into care suffering from extreme heat stroke and dehydration. It also had profuse bleeding from lacerations on its front legs due to being forced to run on the concrete of the expressway.

As of this writing, the horse remains in critical condition and is still in danger of having to be euthanized.

Hollingsworth claims he went out as the "Census Cowboy" on Monday to try and raise awareness and get people to report in for the census. He works closely with Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot and claims to have had her approval for the publicity stunt.

Hollingsworth has been charged with animal cruelty. He appeared in court on Wednesday and the bond was set at $25,000 USD. On Thursday he spoke with reporters, calling himself an "animal lover".

Hollingsworth refuses to admit any wrong doing and even says he'd do it all over again if he had to. He is seeking legal advice and attempting to get an injunction for another veterinarian to examine Nunu and give a professional opinion on the matter.

“The people that don’t know anything about horses, from looking from the outside in, you would think that what I did was cruelty to (an) animal,” said the Cowboy. “But if you go to the racetrack (it’s) 100 times worse. If you go to the circus, worse. It’s way worse than what I do to my horse.”

People wishing to read and/or sign the petition can find it on Change.org.

A fundraiser has also been created to save the horse's life and allow it to live on a farm.