The U.S. House of Representatives voted yesterday to ban interstate trade of primates, following last week’s attack of a woman in Connecticut by a chimpanzee who’d been used in commercials and kept as a household pet. The Captive Primate Safety Act would not outlaw owning chimpanzees and other [primates] [MSNBC], but acquiring them would become more difficult. The legislation, which passed 323 to 95, would prohibit interstate sale or purchase of monkeys and apes, which include chimpanzees and orangutans, as well as marmosets and lemurs [Reuters].
The legislation applies only to the sale of primates as pets, and would have no impact on zoos or researchers. There may be as many as 15,000 primate pets in the United States. Only 20 states prohibit keeping them as pets, and there is no federal law against it [The New York Times]. The Humane Society of the United States has said that over the past four years there were more than 40 incidents involving primates escaping and injuring humans [Reuters].
After the vote, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, co-sponsor of the bill, said, “Primates are wild animals and should not be regularly transported around the United States and integrated into our communities or our households. Today we have taken an important step toward the welfare of humans and animals” [Los Angeles Times].
Similar legislation was passed in the House last year but it then died in the Senate; supporters hope a Senate bill will pass this time around. It is expected to be introduced by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and David Vitter (R-La.) later this year.
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Image: Flickr / belgianchocolate
February 25th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
I believe it is time to evaluate our motives and actions concerning not only primates, but many other species as well. We cannot know the future repercussions of our actions,but considering the outbreaks of many animal related illnesses, it doesn’t look good for humans or animals. The mega farming of cattle, for example, has not only loosed disease among animals, but among people too.
February 25th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Kevin had a monkey.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
My family has owned a monkey for 15 years, and have not had many problems! Sure he can bite a little (it DOESN’T hurt), but he is calm, and is very loving. I plan on owning a monkey in the future. They are lovable and funny animals.
February 25th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
The chimpanzee that attacked that woman had lhyme disease and that was one of the causes of it’s attack. So maybe just implement that all pet primates must be vaccinated for lhyme disease
February 26th, 2009 at 7:43 am
There are more human attacked human incidents than “Pet” attacked human. Should we ban human?
February 26th, 2009 at 10:12 am
I’m from Canada so I’m only going to posit an observation that there are many more people attacked by dogs than by pet monkeys and primates. And, since I am 58, I remember back in the ’60s and ’70s how much more prevalent exotic animal ownership was: ocelots, spider and rhesus monkeys, parrots, etc. I think that the laws that are in place right now have done their job and that this reaction is just knee-jerk. Yes, I have read and heard about this woman and know that she has been transferred to the surigical facility which did the ‘face transplant’ and hope that she gets all the help she needs in order to put this behind her.
February 26th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Why has their not been more focus on the fact that she was feeding her chimp Xanax??? Xanax makes everybody crazy!!
February 26th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I have to agree with hopefulever dog attacks are much more common than primate attacks. This whole thing is rediculous.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:40 am
@Common Sense: only pet humans.
To be fair, of course dog attacks are more common than primate attacks — dogs as pets are far more common than primates as pets. People need to remember that chimps and other primates are wild animals, and simply raising it among humans does not change that. I’m NOT implying that wild animals are naturally vicious. I’m just saying that they are not domesticated — and what exactly that means seems to be lost on a lot of people.
The sad fate of chimps in Hollywood is well known. Every adorable chimp you’ve ever seen on film is a young chimp — once they become adults they become too difficult to manage and usually end up as research animals.
It SHOULD be difficult for an individual to acquire a wild animal. They were not bred to fit neatly around our lives like dogs and cats were. They are very high maintenance pets, and usually have very specific dietary and emotional needs. It’s great that people love wild animals — so do I — but be realistic. Don’t turn them into something they aren’t. Love them for what they are, not for what you want them to be.