The recent chimp attack on a Connecticut woman has created a lot of controversy. Here is my take on the incident:
Chimps Are Not Pets

What do you think about this attack? Could it have been prevented? Should the owner of the chimp be held liable? Do chimps make appropriate pets? What about other primates, such as capuchin monkeys?

How scary! I agree with the sentiments you expressed in your article. Very sad.

No primates make good pets.

On a report last night, a woman who runs a primate place in Gainesville said that primates get wild as they get older no matter how well they were "brought up".

That's so true, Robin. People who work with chimps in entertainment won't work with them once they are ten years old or so - too dangerous. That's one of the reasons I don't think chimps or orangutans should be used for film, TV, etc. - they have to use babies, so all the adults have nowhere to go. They end up in horrible circumstances, in terrible roadside zoos or even in medical labs. A lot of people don't even know what an adult orangutan looks like, because all you see on TV or in films are the babies.

I've been working with animals all my life, including lions, cheetahs, tigers, bears - all sorts of big predators. And the only animal I have *ever* been bitten by, in all these years, was a capuchin monkey. It was a nasty wound, too. I ended up with blood poisoning, and was out in the middle of nowhere in Ecuador at the time... but that's another story.

Excellent article MaryEllen. Why do people think that they can change an animal's behavior simply because they love them? It has been proven again and again that they are wild animals and they are not pets.

I think the owner should be held liable, they're not pets as has been said. I think it's really cruel to keep a wild animal as a pet. I've seen such upsetting docu's on this - and the animals far too often get the blame

Well, it looks like one good thing to come of this attack is that a law banning the transport of chimps across state lines by private individuals has just been passed: Federal law bans chimp transport

But it does make me wonder - chimps are not, by far, responsible for the most deaths or injuries by exotic pets in the country. Tigers kill or wound far more people each year - but no law has passed preventing ownership of them.

I think the really horrific nature of this attack may have spurred law-makers, but I also think that they should be really looking hard at the ownership of large predators in general, not just focussing on chimps.

Isn't there any law that governs exotic pets? One that is specific as to what animals are considered exotic and dangerous?

(I guess not since people seem to have them) I'm just surprised that the issue hasn't been addressed before.

Each state has its own set of laws. Some states have very strict laws banning ownership of any exotic pets, some states ban certain exotics but not others, and some states allow you to own anything you want. In Texas, for example, you can go to a swap meet and buy a tiger cub for about $400. No permits, no background check, no need to show that you have the facilities to care for it. In California, the laws are very strict - even the exotic 'pocket pets' like ferrets, hedgehogs, and sugar gliders are illegal here.

The newest reports from the hospital where the victim is being treated say that she may not recover at all, and that if she does, she may be brain damaged.

More new information - the chimp attack victim is able to communicate somewhat with her family, but she is blind and brain-damaged. The chimp tore off her hands as well as her face, so she has no hands or face at the moment. They say that they are doing surgery to 'restore function' to parts of her face but that cosmetic surgery is at least two years down the line.

I hate to say such a horrible thing... but if it were me, I would have rather not survived. I don't think I have the courage to face life in such a maimed condition.