Tragedy in Connecticut makes case against apes as pets or surrogate children

Des Moines, Iowa – February 26, 2009 – A Great Ape Trust of Iowa scientist says the Feb. 17 tragedy that left a Stamford, Conn., woman critically injured and a chimpanzee dead reinforces the lesson that great apes are not pets or surrogate children and they should not be kept in private homes.

Travis, a 200-pound male chimpanzee, had lived with Sandra Herold, 70, and was raised as part of her family. It is unclear what prompted the chimpanzee’s attack on Herold’s friend, 55-year-old Charla Nash in the driveway of Herold’s home. Herold grabbed a large kitchen knife and stabbed Travis several times in defense of her friend, and the chimpanzee disappeared into the nearby woods. Travis ultimately was shot to death by police officers responding to a frantic emergency call.

“The problem is clear with keeping chimpanzees and other great apes as pets or treating them as surrogate children,” said Dr. Rob Shumaker, director of orangutan research and a leading great ape welfare advocate. “They are neither. It’s time we learned that lesson, and it’s time we made that change.”

Shumaker said he is troubled that the public may be attracted to the morbid aspects of stories like the one that unfolded in Connecticut, but fail to address the underlying issues that contributed to the tragedy.

“This is not a new story,” he said. “This is a repeat of an old story that we continue to hear, and I am troubled that the public seems to be attracted to this kind of sensationalism, but their interest goes away very quickly when we try to address the problem behind all of this.”

Great apes are many times stronger than humans, and although incidents like this between chimpanzees and humans are rare, they perpetuate unfortunate stereotypes that generally are not indicative of chimpanzee behavior, said Shumaker, who has worked closely with apes for more than 25 years. “It bothers me tremendously that these sensational stories are distorting public perception of apes,” he said.

Shumaker said he’s also dismayed that such incidents sometimes generate support for keeping great apes and other exotic animals as pets. “It is shocking to me that when these kinds of events occur, people quickly defend apes as pets,” he said. “We get this reaction of, ‘Oh, I’d do it all over again.’”

Private ownership of potentially dangerous wild animals puts unnecessary burdens on local law enforcement and animal control officials, and exposes them and communities at large to harm. “These professionals cannot and should not be expected to deal with apes living in their communities,” Shumaker said. “I say this respectfully, but it is outside of their expertise and we inevitably see tragic circumstances, such as those occurring in Connecticut, where a woman sustained horrific injuries, and a chimpanzee has been stabbed and shot and now has died.

“The solution is not particularly complicated,” he reiterated. “Great apes are not pets, they are not surrogate children and they should not be kept in private homes.

“Ultimately, apes in captivity must be cared for by experienced professionals who allow them to live their lives with other apes. Under those appropriate circumstances, it’s highly desirable for people to be meaningful social partners for the great apes they care for and work with. In that regard, both humans and apes benefit from those relationships.”

According to the Humane Society of the United States, there are about 15,000 privately owned monkeys and apes living in U.S. states, the majority of them monkeys. Twenty states ban keeping primates as pets.

Shumaker, Great Ape Trust Director of Conservation Dr. Benjamin Beck and Caisie Pitman, a research associate, worked closely with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa in 2007 on state legislation prohibiting the private ownership of exotic animals, including great apes and other primates. The bill that passed the Iowa Legislature contained a grandfather clause granting exceptions to people who already owned animals defined under the law.

The state of Connecticut’s exotic animal law, passed in 2004, allows smaller species of primates, weighing up to 50 pounds at maturity, to be kept as pets with a state permit. Herold was allowed to keep Travis under a clause that grandfathered animals already in the state on Oct. 1, 2003. Now, Connecticut’s Department of Environmental Protection is urging that state’s legislature to approve an all-out ban on private ownership of exotic or potentially dangerous pets.

The tragedy also has renewed support for the Captive Primate Safety Act, which is pending before Congress. That legislation would ban the private selling of primates as pets. Iowans concerned about the issue should contact their elected representatives and senators to urge passage of the legislation. Members of Iowa’s congressional delegation may be reached at:

Sen. Charles Grassley
135 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-1501
Phone: (202) 224-3744
Facsimile: (202) 224-6020

Sen.Tom Harkin
731 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-0001
Phone: (202) 224-3254
Facsimile: (202) 224-9369

1st District Rep. Bruce Braley
1408 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2911
Facsimile: (202) 225-6666

2nd District Rep. Dave Loebsack
1221 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-6567
Facsimile: (202) 226-0757

3rd District Rep. Leonard Boswell
427 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3806
Facsimile: (202) 225-5608

4th District Rep. Tom Latham
2217 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5476
Facsimile: (202) 225-3301

5th District Rep. Steve King
1131 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4426
Facsimile: (202) 225-3193