Barbara Trask Lovett—president of Save Nosey Now, member of the Board of Directors of The Elephant Advocacy Project, and generally a veteran advocate for improving the lives of captive elephants—recounts part of her background and how earlier efforts for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (at times, working closely with Paul Watson) gradually mutated into parallel concerns for elephants, particularly captive ones. Trask Lovett recalls the history of Save Nosey Now, which began in 2014 as a Facebook group, focused 
on helping the titular elephant, who was taken from her mother in Africa at age two and forced to perform in circus acts, solo, and often under dreadful circumstances. Eventually, Nosey did land at The Elephant Sanctuary (TES) in Tennessee, and it was a wonderfully upbeat update last week that TES offered about her which partly prompted this conversation with Trask Lovett. This discussion was also brought about by the spiritual polar opposite of that Nosey update: within a couple of days, a horrific video surfaced on The New Yorker’s website of NRA honcho Wayne LaPierre hunting an elephant and botching the shooting. We discussed the video 
(including Susan LaPierre’s disturbingly gleeful turn killing another elephant on the same outing). Trask Lovett inventories the active U.S. circuses that use elephants, and outlines four elephants living alone in zoos across North America. Trask Lovett’s expertise runs deep and wide, so for anyone who cares about captive elephants, hearing her assessments and perspectives here should absolutely not be missed. She also responds to some listener calls and emails, including one who asked about legislation: Trask Lovett highlights and explains The Traveling Exotic and Public Safety Protection Act, or TEAPSPA. (https://savenoseynow.org, https://www.facebook.com/theelephantadvocacyproject/)
ALSO: I spoke briefly with Gracie Grieshop, Director of Marketing at Pet Pal Animal Shelter, who provides a brief overview of the Saint Peterburg-based organization’s mission and the various related services it offers. Addressing the way the operation is funded brings us to focusing on their 19thAnnual Puppy Love Benefit, which has gone virtual this year, including the Auction Packages that are always central to the event. The bidding is online, too, and was slated to continue through Saturday, May 8. Grieshop describes some of the array of Auction Packages available, and how to bid: https://events.readysetauction.com/petpalanimalshelter/puppylove2021
COMEDY CORNER: Nate Bargatze’s “Fat Cat” (https://natebargatze.com)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.
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