One last step: bug the Gov to sign 'Nosey's Law'

 Nosey in sanctuary                                    Save Nosey Now pic

What do you say after Nosey’s Law is approved by NJ’s general assembly -- as happened last week?  Now that the bill has passed in both houses of the legislature, you say, “Sign it into law, please!” to Governor Phil Murphy.  Phone his office (609-292-6000) early and often with that message!

Why?

Because, as specified in the bill’s text, A1923/S1093 would Nosey“prohibit the use of elephants and other wild or exotic animals in a traveling animal act.” (“Traveling animal act” means any performance which requires an animal to be transported to or from the location of the performance in a mobile or traveling housing facility,” with “mobile or traveling housing facility” meaning “a vehicle, including a truck, trailer, or railway car, used to transport or house an animal used for performance.”) 

More important yet: “Performance” means any animal act, carnival, circus, display, exhibition, exposition, fair, parade, petting zoo, presentation, public showing, race, ride, trade show, or similar undertaking in which animals perform tricks, give rides, or participate as accompaniments for the entertainment, amusement, or benefit of a live audience.

If this bill is signed into law, New Jersey would become the first state to comprehensively ban wild animal acts in traveling shows/circuses. And that, very simply, is great news for wild or exotic animals, who for too long have been forced into unnatural and inhumane lives of “performance servitude” for the pleasure (and profit!) of humans.

                          Save Nosey Now pic

Originally sponsored by now-retired state Senator Raymond Lesniak, the bill reached then-Governor Chris Christie, who didn’t sign it.  The current sponsor, Assemblyman Raj Mukherji (D-Hudson), says of it: “These are wild, endangered animals, and they should be cared for according to the highest ethical standards to ensure the survival of their species.” 

That’s fine, but I’d have preferred his stopping at “the highest ethical standards.”  Endangered or not, survival of species or not, no animal deserves to live life as an involuntary entertainer -- with all the horrors that involves.

Although the governor can sign the bill at any time in the next 45 days, the sooner the better because it would take effect immediately.  So please phone Gov. Murphy frequently (609-292-6000), saying something like "My name is . . . and I support A1923/S1093, known as "Nosey's Law."  The governor should sign this bill to protect animals, promote public safety and assure responsible entertainment that does not include wild or exotic animals."  

  

(With thanks to the Animal Protection League of NJ and the Humane Society of the US--NJ for ongoing efforts on behalf of Nosey’s Law)  

  

We're ‘never home alone’   

Probably like a lot of kids, I grew up believing that the only good bug in my home was a dead bug, as in “Eek! a thousand-legger/a waterbug/a spider!” -- to be followed by a squashed bug.  I’ve gained knowledge and sensitivity since then, coming to know about sentience and “good” bugs and (with a few key exceptions, like house flies, mosquitoes and ticks), live and let live.  

Today, the idea behind a citizen-science project called “Never Home Alone” is snap it, don’t squash it!  That is, photograph the insect co-residents of our homes to share with Dr. Rob Dunn, a North Carolina applied ecologist who aims to catalog the “spiders, insects and other many-legged creatures that live indoors with us.” 

Dunn's investigations have already turned up myriad species of spiders, including beneficial varieties and even some new ones.  Beyond spiders, think: booklice, beetles, flies, and (gulp!) bedbugs.   

Those still squeamish about sharing quarters with insects should know that use of pesticides   can aid in the evolution of pesticide-resistant cockroaches and bedbugs -- not a nice thought.

Could one picture be worth a thousand squirts?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/29/science/spider-insect-survey.html?em_pos=medium&emc=edit_sc_20181030&nl=science-times&nl_art=1&nlid=20760274emc%3Dedit_sc_20181030&ref=headline&te=1

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