Ban on pet primates

[mooingtricycle]

Well, following a news story about a chimp ripping off somebodies face you can expect the kneejerk politicians to propose legislation without even a week going by and without studying any data. And the Journalists will write about it in sensationalist terms to sell newspapers. The comparison to gun control is a good one Miss Moo.

Thank'ye Dale.

I understand the concern just as much as anybody , i dont want just anyone owning these animals either. But in the end, its the irresponsible keepers that cause the problems for everyone. ( Be it Guns, Snakes, Primates, Large Mammals)

[_Venom_]

Large snakes can cause serious harm to humans. There are large snakes living in FL. How, exactly, are they any different?

I bet you i cant name one person who keeps a monkey near me. but i bet you i can name quite a few that keep Hots and Large snakes!

I think responsible people should be able to care for them, if they are able to. I do not think your average joe should just up and get one. But i also dont think your average joe should be able to keep large snakes or hots either.

Like I said.
It's not the danger to the human I'm worried about, it's the danger to the chimp/monkey.

[wolfy-hound]

Well, does that mean we shouldn't have any laws at all?
Let's let people own elephants if they want to! The fact is that some animals are overly dangerous for the average person to own. Why not regulate who can own them, by proving they know what they are doing to keep them?
If you are going to use a argument that people will keep them anyway, whether they are legal or not, then abolish speed limits, and laws against everything from jaywalking to murder. Laws don't prevent crime, but laws give you a way to punish those that act like idiots.
Most folks that keep dangerous animals DO keep them responisbly. But if you could just go buy a chimp at the local pet store, we'd see way more chimp attacks on people. Yes, there are more dog attacks on people than primate attacks. Yes, more people are killed by cars than by chimps. Does that mean we should subject chimps and monkeys to tiny cramped cages and have their teeth pulled and let everyone lock them into dank garages and basements, however they want?
I don't want my redneck neighbor to be able to own a elephant or a baboon. I want to know they at least had to go through a process of acquiring a license to own it first. I'm all for RESPONSIBLE ownership.. but unfortunately that involves people being responsible, which normally they are not.
Just my opinion, but I also don't want my redneck neighbor to own a ground to ground missile either. Too many morons, not enough time to bury all the bodies.

[mainbutter]

I'm not against the keeping of ALL primates. I'm not for the keeping of any primates I know about, however, but there are plenty of differences between species that I'm willing to consider them on a species by species basis.

I'm against the keeping of apes by private citizens. Gorillas, chimps, orangs etc are not pets. They are a level of creature higher than pet or domesticated animal(concerning responsible care of the animal). I don't believe any private citizen has the resources to properly take care of an ape, housing and food and social requirements go above and beyond the difficulty of raising children, and most people have a difficult enough time with that! Not to mention the dangers that the big apes pose, including the likelihood of transferrable diseases. I've been told by a good friend in the field of exotic mammals that her professor stopped working with orangutans and began working with large cats(tigers mostly) because he "came to his senses about how dangerous orangs were to work with".

Apparently when an orang gets pissy and attacks, he knocks you down and rips your kneecaps off with his hands, so you can't run away. Then he goes to work on you. Just what I've heard from someone I'd consider "in the know"

The psych department at the college I went to keeps tamarin monkeys. From my experience, I'm certain they are not "pet" material either. I have a hard time imagining that there are any monkey species out there that would be suitable to keep by an individual for the sole purpose of personal enjoyment and entertainment.

For the most part I'm morally ok with keeping reptiles and birds and small mammals and fish for personal enjoyment, and keeping domesticated animals for the uses they have developed over the past couple thousand years(or more, I'm fuzzy on domesticated animal timelines), but there's certain classes of creatures that I don't think should be kept for entertainment. Do other people here have any kind of similar distinction?

This is both an issue for the health safety of would-be primate keepers and (more importantly imo)the health and safety of would-be captive primates. I'm not even considering public safety concerns at the moment, which certainly have strong and reasonable arguments supporting a ban on primates as pets.

This also doesn't touch the issue of primates caught in the wild, again a no-no for me.

[mainbutter]

Let's let people own elephants if they want to! The fact is that some animals are overly dangerous for the average person to own. Why not regulate who can own them, by proving they know what they are doing to keep them?

This made me want to say one more thing.

I'm more ok with my neighbor keeping an Indian elephant(Not Africans though) or grizzly bear than any great ape, from a personal safety standpoint.

[kjhowland]

In the 70s, my family had a squirrel monkey for about seven years. The monkey was a great pet. Yes, we housed it in a cage, but we had an outside summer cage when it got warmer. We took it out of the cage on a leash. It was fed a monkey chow with additions of healthy human food. He gave his life in the end, but saved ours. Like a canary in the mines, he died from car fumes that would have caused our death. I agree with mainbutter that no ape should be kept by a normal family. I believe that there are species that can be kept, providing the owner is willing to learn the needs of the animal.

[kitsunex]

i think rather than banning them, they should rather require the owner to obtain a permit to own one. Add rules as to what is required to get said permit. maybe such things as classes taken on the proper care, as well as proof of adequate housing. That would weed out the impulse buying of them and make sure the owner really knows what they are getting themselves into.

[mainbutter]

A few more thoughts:

Given the choice, I'd vote this legislation down, and not because of any particular beliefs about primates as pets.

I saw a clip of a congressman defending the bill. He mentioned that many states and cities already have bans on primates as pets, but the states that allow primates as pets undermine the ability of other states to enforce laws, which is why they want to ban the sale and transport of primates across state lines.

I understand that it may be an issue for those states that do currently ban primates. However, this bill seems to me as if they're trying to take away the power of states to regulate their own animal laws. It puts undue pressure on a state that neighbors a primate-ban state as well. I don't want neighboring states dictating policy to one another.

Sometimes I feel like an anarchist and want all laws to just be done away with. grrrr it gets me riled up.

[spottysnake]

I think a huge ban everywhere would be a fine idea. Primates are NOT suited to captivity. It's hard to realize unless you have worked with or around non-domesticated mammals and birds, but wild animals are wild animals, you don't want to deal with 99% of them as "pets". It's fun to think about, but we don't understand nearly as much about them as we think we learn from amateur observations, and even if it seems like they do, they do NOT understand us. Pets are usually forced to base their behaviors around us off of fear of punishment and "learned helplessness", and that's just not a healthy state of mind for them to live in. It's a huge problem with dogs, who are actually suited to living with people, let alone primates! Even in dogs, for example, believe it or not, there are huge gaps of information about body language, and no clear answer on the ideal diet... and dogs are a VERY domesticated species! Primates are incredibly social and need to live in big groups with animals that understand and share their body language and behaviors. They have VERY complex social relationships within their groups that can't be created artificially well enough for their ideal mental and physical health.

[Epona142]

I am not in favor of straight bans for ANY species, but I would LOVE to see VERY strict regulations for keeping certain species, primates being a big one.

Having worked in exotic mammal rescue, I've handled lots of animals most people never get the chance too (and been bitten by most). It makes it hard for me to decide on subjects like these, because for one, rescueing these animals that someone thought would make a good "pet" makes me very angry, especially when they mutilate the animal to try to control it.

But then again, what if I decide to keep one someday? I'm experienced, so its not a real issue, but not everyone is.

Strict policies on undomesticated animals is my vote.