Chimp attack victim seeks primate sales ban

[KingObeat]

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut woman blinded and disfigured by a chimpanzee attack will visit Washington this week to urge the passage of rules to make it harder to keep primates as pets.

Charla Nash, who lost her nose, lips, eyelids and hands after she was mauled by her employer's 200-pound pet chimpanzee in 2009, said people who buy baby chimps would be wrong to think they will be harmless, childlike companions.

"There are many people that know nothing about myself and what happened. The more awareness is made, the better off people will be," Nash told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Nash, whose eyes were surgically removed after the attack, said chimpanzees "are not the type of animal that anyone should keep as a pet. They're just too wild and dangerous when they get older."

Nash, who underwent face transplant surgery in 2011, is scheduled to appear at a news conference on Thursday in Washington with representatives of The Humane Society of the United States to press Congress to support the Captive Primates Safety Act. She is also meeting with congressional staff to discuss the legislation, which has previously passed the U.S. House. It would amend the Lacey Act by adding "nonhuman primates" to the list of animals that cannot be traded or transported across state lines as pets. Currently, the Lacey Act puts such restrictions on big cats, such as lions and tigers.

Approximately 25 states prohibit people from keeping some or all primates as pets. But John Goodwin, director of animal cruelty policy at the Humane Society, said buyers can skirt those laws by purchasing primates from exotic animal breeders they find online or at large exotic animal auctions. Infant chimpanzees can sell for about $5,000 apiece.

Goodwin said there is no accurate count of how many primates are currently being kept as pets in the U.S. because there is little regulation of the exotic pet industry. But Goodwin calls 15,000 a "best guess." And some of those animals have been involved in violent occurrences.
Chimp Attack Victim Speaks to CT Lawmakers Play Video
Chimp Attack Victim Speaks to CT Lawmakers

"There have been several primate attacks on human beings documented in the news over the past couple of decades. And those are just the ones that make the news," he said. He said primates can also expose humans to various diseases.

In February 2009, Nash had come at the request of her friend and employer, Sandra Herold, to lure the woman's pet chimp, Travis, back inside her Stamford, Connecticut home. But the animal went berserk and attacked Nash.

Herold, who died in 2010, had bought the chimpanzee in Missouri when it was an infant and brought it to Connecticut.

Earlier this year, the Connecticut General Assembly denied Nash the ability to sue the state in court. She claimed the state is partly liable for her injuries because officials knew the chimp could be dangerous and was being kept without a permit. Nash, who is now living alone in a small apartment in Massachusetts and relies on government assistance to cover most of her expenses, said she has not given up hope on her case even though her lawyers told her they can't go any further.

In the meantime, Nash said she hopes to play a role in preventing other attacks.

"It's a lot of suffering and hardship on everyone," she said. "And your life is never the same."

http://news.yahoo.com/chimp-attack-vict ... 21652.html

She knew there were risks when she agreed to help look after that chimp and now she's trying to take out her frustration on all the other primate keepers. And of course the HSUS is backing her. I don't keep any primates and have no desire to. But I think we should still follow this story. Any exotics ban could potentially effect us.

[J.P.]

Ban cars, because poeple die in accidents. ban guns, because poeple die when shot. ban peanuts for cryin out loud, since those with allergy may die from it.
ban ban ban ban everything that you poeple can die from.....oh wait, there's always a common denominator to all this. human responsibility.... so ban humans!!!!

[barbie.dragon]

Chimpanzee should definitely NOT BE PETS or sold as pets. It is extremely traumatic for the mother and the baby chimpanzee to be separated to begin with. There is really no responsible way to keep a chimpanzee as a pet as it grows older. I'm not sure if you know what happens to the chimps once they become unmanagable. They're locked up as no one can go near them without endangering themselves. Chimpanzees are often neglected as well. They are social and extremely intelligent.

[Bluebonnet Herp]

My only worry is that people won't be able to tell the difference between pet monkeys or chimpanzees. Chimpanzees are one thing. A very complex member of the great ape family, they should definitely be left to professional institutions. Now, monkeys and lemurs on the other hand... those can be left to those private keepers who know what they're doing. There's a big difference between monkeys/lemurs and great apes such as chimpanzees. I can understand banning chimpanzees but I don't expect them to know their limits and do see them going overboard and banning all primates.

I'll laugh if they're dumb enough to ban themselves.

[MrLang]

Agreed there is a difference between chimps and most monkeys. That said, I am of the opinion that none of them are suitable domesticated pets. Their care is just too specialized for common folk. They should require some kind of certification, license, or should only be kept in Zoos by specialists.

[MrLang]

I'll laugh if they're dumb enough to ban themselves.

Slavery got banned a long time ago

[AlexisFitzy]

Chimpanzee should definitely NOT BE PETS or sold as pets. It is extremely traumatic for the mother and the baby chimpanzee to be separated to begin with. There is really no responsible way to keep a chimpanzee as a pet as it grows older. I'm not sure if you know what happens to the chimps once they become unmanagable. They're locked up as no one can go near them without endangering themselves. Chimpanzees are often neglected as well. They are social and extremely intelligent.

I 100% agree with this. No one needs to have a pet chimp in their back yard or in their home. Their much too difficult to care for, plus they are so strong & smart they don't belong in someone's home in a cage they belong in the wild with their family. I remember a story where a man had a full grown tiger in his apartment in New York City and ended up getting eaten by it because he wasn't feeding it enough. Seriously people should be able to just buy a chimp or any kind of big cat just because they want one. Because in the end the animal always ends up getting killed for being a wild animal. It's completely pointless. I read in a National Geographic magazine that was talking about exotic animals, that a man had over 50 exotic animals that consisted of lions, tigers, bears, zebras and some other animals. He couldn't take care of them all so one day he let them all go to run around the neighborhood and the authorities came and shoot all the animals dead. It was a horrific picture of corpses lying all over the ground. Maybe banning isn't the best choice since they can go overboard with it but something seriously needs to be done about this. Sorry I'm going on & on but this is something that really upsets me. This is the last thing I'll say, I think it's pretty sad that your blaming that poor woman for getting her face torn to pieces. I don't think it's her fault at all. Her friend should've never had a freaking chimp in the first place. I'm pretty sure she's doing all of this to keep others from having to go through what she did. Okay I'm done now.


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[barbie.dragon]

I 100% agree with this. No one needs to have a pet chimp in their back yard or in their home. Their much too difficult to care for, plus they are so strong & smart they don't belong in someone's home in a cage they belong in the wild with their family. I remember a story where a man had a full grown tiger in his apartment in New York City and ended up getting eaten by it because he wasn't feeding it enough. Seriously people should be able to just buy a chimp or any kind of big cat just because they want one. Because in the end the animal always ends up getting killed for being a wild animal. It's completely pointless. I read in a National Geographic magazine that was talking about exotic animals, that a man had over 50 exotic animals that consisted of lions, tigers, bears, zebras and some other animals. He couldn't take care of them all so one day he let them all go to run around the neighborhood and the authorities came and shoot all the animals dead. It was a horrific picture of corpses lying all over the ground. Maybe banning isn't the best choice since they can go overboard with it but something seriously needs to be done about this. Sorry I'm going on & on but this is something that really upsets me. This is the last thing I'll say, I think it's pretty sad that your blaming that poor woman for getting her face torn to pieces. I don't think it's her fault at all. Her friend should've never had a freaking chimp in the first place. I'm pretty sure she's doing all of this to keep others from having to go through what she did. Okay I'm done now.


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I was appalled when I saw some people were blaming her. I don't think anyone fully understands how strong and UNPREDICTABLE chimpanzees are. Even professionals that has been working with them for many years are extremely weary of chimpanzees.

I firmly believe they should ban the sales of all primates in the hominidae family (great apes) as it is incredibly cruel. Or the requirements for a permit should be at a higher standard and the penalty for possessing an exotic animal without a permit should be much heavier. Not sure if everyone read through the entire article but the owner of the chimpanzee did not have a permit and the state knew about it. Harsher penalties would be a great start.

[AlexisFitzy]

I was appalled when I saw some people were blaming her. I don't think anyone fully understands how strong and UNPREDICTABLE chimpanzees are. Even professionals that has been working with them for many years are extremely weary of chimpanzees.

Thank you! Omg I was pretty baffled when I read "She knew there were risks when she agreed to help look after that chimp" that's like saying to an Army Vet "you knew the risks of going to war so it's your fault your legs got blown off by a land mine." After someone has been through so much as being attacked by a chimp & getting your face ripped off after all that people are blaming YOU?? What kind of sense does that make? I've watched a video about her and she said that people are afraid of her now because of the way she looks and no one want to speak with her or be around her and she feels so lonely. I just want to give the poor lady a hug. Maybe I'm just a more sentimental person but my heart just goes out to her.


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[Bluebonnet Herp]

I 100% agree with this. No one needs to have a pet chimp in their back yard or in their home. Their much too difficult to care for, plus they are so strong & smart they don't belong in someone's home in a cage they belong in the wild with their family. I remember a story where a man had a full grown tiger in his apartment in New York City and ended up getting eaten by it because he wasn't feeding it enough. Seriously people should be able to just buy a chimp or any kind of big cat just because they want one. Because in the end the animal always ends up getting killed for being a wild animal. It's completely pointless. I read in a National Geographic magazine that was talking about exotic animals, that a man had over 50 exotic animals that consisted of lions, tigers, bears, zebras and some other animals. He couldn't take care of them all so one day he let them all go to run around the neighborhood and the authorities came and shoot all the animals dead. It was a horrific picture of corpses lying all over the ground. Maybe banning isn't the best choice since they can go overboard with it but something seriously needs to be done about this. Sorry I'm going on & on but this is something that really upsets me. This is the last thing I'll say, I think it's pretty sad that your blaming that poor woman for getting her face torn to pieces. I don't think it's her fault at all. Her friend should've never had a freaking chimp in the first place. I'm pretty sure she's doing all of this to keep others from having to go through what she did. Okay I'm done now.


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Chimps are not big cats. That same kind of generalization is done by animal rights groups and the ignorant public who will also throw your snakes into that category. As for Zanesville, that kind of situation was propaganda bait for animal rights groups as well. There are plenty of big cats among other things kept in captivity where they are not released and there are no incidents. While I'm of the position that animals such as large cats should definitely require a permit and qualifications to own, caring for them in captivity is not impossible or unobtainable and the option should still remain for the devoted individual as many have existed for years without a problem. The same goes for other lesser primates. Capuchin monkeys and lemurs are not chimpanzees and while they are no dogs or cat either, they are not as dangerous, complex or difficult to own in captivity as a great ape and many people do own and breed these unrelated primates without any sort of issue. Being as sophisticated as great apes and lesser apes are, they are definitely only for the appropriate institutions.
Otherwise, I'm somewhat surprised I'd be hearing such comments on an exotic pet forum.