Taxpayer money shouldn't be used for pet welfare
While many New Jersey residents are losing their jobs, homes and retirement accounts, New Jersey's animal "rights" fanatics and dippy anthropomorphist are hard at work in our legislature.

New Jersey Assembly Bill A3052 will unduly expand emergency evacuation plans to include care for domestic animals.

Including disaster support to domesticated animals (pets) will have a very severe and disparate impact on those who chose not to own pets. It might even constitute a violation of a non-pet owner's constitutional right to "equal protection" during an actual evacuation.

Government funding, transporting and caring for pets during a natural disaster will inevitably complicate and impede the timely evacuation of people. Evacuating pets with the general public will also unnecessarily expose people to diseases, vicious dog attacks and numerous other dangers associated with pets. Many people, especially children are allergic to pets.

Should a family with children or the elderly be left behind to wait for evacuation transportation while pets occupy and overcrowd valuable space needed to transport people? I should think not. However, this will be the norm if our misguided legislators have their way.

Packing evacuation vehicles and especially disaster shelters with pets may cause a disaster larger than the one people are trying to escape.

If pet owners want to evacuate with their pets, they must at the very least wait for all others without pets to be evacuated first and then taken to shelters paid for by pet owners — not the non-pet owning taxpayer. Taxpayer money must never be used to promote the welfare of pets over the fundamental health, safety and well being of all New Jersey residents.
Doug Donato
Margate