Weird NY laws: Cheating on your spouse is illegal in New York; so is ‘direct contact’ with big cats

Tiger Selfies

Probably the most recent addition to this list, the New York Legislature and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo passed a law in 2014 prohibiting contact with big cats. (AP Photo)AP

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The law can be a strange institution, but certain New York statues will certainly make you scratch your head.

From the outdated to the absurd, here’s a look at five of the weirdest laws in the state and city:

SELLING CAT OR DOG HAIR

Section 379 of the Agriculture and Markets law prohibits the marketing of domesticated cat and dog hair. More specifically, a person cannot “import, sell, offer for sale, manufacture,distribute, transport or otherwise market or trade in the fur, hair, skin or flesh” of those animals.

Manufacturers need to provide certification to retailers that their products don’t contain those animals’ hair, and fines for violations of the law can reach $25,000

The law doesn’t apply to other animals like coyotes, foxes or bobcats.

STREET SHOWS

New York City, like any other urban area, is known for its buskers, but not all performers hoping to put on a show can do so under the law.

Part of the New York City Administrative Code covering public safety prohibits certain kids of street performances, including building climbing. In addition, some other performances, including puppet shows, from the open part of a building, like a window, are also prohibited.

Fines are only $25, but the possibility of a 30 day lockup is also written into the statute.

OFFENSIVE EXHIBITIONS

Part of section 245 of New York’s penal law prohibits certain types of exhibitions.

Under this section of the penal law, people are guilty of offensive exhibitions when he or she “knowingly produces, operates, manages or furnishes premises for, or in any way promotes or participates in” several activities.

This law prohibits people from participating in contests of more than eight hours without a break. That includes things like dance contests, bicycle races and other contest involving physical endurance.

It also outlaws people from “voluntarily submitting to indignities” like having balls thrown at their bodies for other people’s amusement. More reasonably, the law also prohibits activities where firearms are discharged or sharp objects are thrown toward a person.

ADULTERY

They say family values have waned in America, but not in New York’s penal code.

A section of that law against adultery is still on the books.

TIGER SELFIES

Probably the most recent addition to this list, the New York Legislature and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo passed a law in 2014 prohibiting contact with big cats.

The law followed a proliferation of roadside attractions around the country offering visitors the chance to get dangerously close to man-eating wild animals, think “Tiger King.”

To combat the obvious concerns, the legislation that’s codified in the state’s environmental conservation law, prohibited those types of exhibitions and any “direct contact” with big cats. The legislators crafted the legislation to exclude zoos.

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