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Location New Jersey 
Bill Cumberland County, NJ  
Detail Cat   Information 
Detail Cumberland forbids exhibition of wild, exotic animals on county-owned land 
Attachment   
Date 3/16/2017 
Body

Article from NJ.com:

http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.ssf/2016/12/cumberland_forbids_exhibition_of_wild_exotic_anima.html

Cumberland forbids exhibition of wild, exotic animals on county-owned land

Bill Gallo Jr. | For NJ.com By Bill Gallo Jr. | For NJ.com

on December 21, 2016 at 4:35 PM, updated December 21, 2016 at 5:16 PM

 

BRIDGETON -- Cumberland County has banned the exhibition of wild and exotic animals on county-owned land, a move officials say is designed to prevent animal cruelty.

Approved by a 7-to-0 vote Tuesday night, the resolution does not place any restrictions on what takes place on municipal property.

It targets traveling circus or carnival groups that still use wild animals as an audience draw.

"It makes complete sense if these animals cannot be provided with a proper environment and humane conditions," Freeholder Director Joe Derella said. "If you are an animal lover it's the right move."

Derella said research was done to be sure that the board's action would not impact other events in which domestic animals are part of such as the county fair and rodeos.

He added that the resolution applies just to county-owned lands because the freeholders did not want to infringe on municipalities and what they allow on their land.

The action was precipitated after animal rights activist Adrienne Possenti spoke to the board earlier this fall asking members to take a stand.

The number of "wild or exotic" animals that fall under the ban is a large group. It includes everything from chimpanzees to lions, leopards, bears, crocodiles, giraffes, rhinos and ostriches.

The measure bans performances of wild and exotic animals and circuses, fairs, petting zoos and more.

Freeholders want to "prevent the exhibition of wild and exotic animals who are often subjected to cruel or inhumane treatment as a result of traveling from place to place, being confined and being exhibited on an itinerant basis," the resolution says.

"... training and performance, as well as continued confinement can have extremely deleterious and adverse effects upon the health and welfare of wild and exotic animals ... which can lead to obesity, other health problems, as well as the potential to subject wild and exotic animals to behavioral irregularities which may lead to abnormal behavior including attacks on trainers or the public," the resolution says.

The resolution does not prevent exhibitions of domesticated animals such as horses, cattle, sheep, goats or llamas and it would not stop displays of domesticated far animals in events at county-owned property such as the Cumberland County Fairgrounds.

However the new ban would forbid any circus or carnival which uses wild or exotic animals from using the fairgrounds.

The fairgrounds is one of the the main county-owned space that could accommodate a circus.

The Cohanzick Zoo in Bridgeton would not be impacted by the measure. The county makes an annual financial contribution to the zoo.

Several of the popular circus events held throughout Cumberland County each year would not be impacted since they are held on municipally-owned properties. That is unless individual towns where they are held would act to ban them.

Several counties and municipalities in New Jersey have already put bans similar to Cumberland's into effect.

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