February 18, 2009
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Owning a Chimp
Congress may move to ban the selling of primates as pets after a chimpanzee nearly ripped the face off a 55-year-old woman.
The woman is in critical condition. The chimp attacked her and a police officer was forced to kill the chimp. Here is the link: Link
Do you think people should be able to own chimpanzees as pets?
Comments (110)
Chimps are not domestic animals. They belong in the wild.
FIRST!!
@DrugInducedDuck - i agree
ew, no…they’re disgusting beasts.
@SladeTheGreyFox - You totally lose points for screaming “first”.
@DrugInducedDuck - Agreed
Unless chimps are a hazard via disease or have an unreasonably high danger rate, I don’t see why a ban is necessary. On that same note, I already assumed they were banned for humanitarian reasons…
well I meant…I wouldn’t own one. because I’m in my right mind haha.
@DrugInducedDuck - ooh, I never thought of that!!
I’m not sure I’d ever get any kind of animal for a pet…
@Kestryl – Guys always scream first.
I’ve always had this dream of being super rich and owning a tiger as a pet.
Have they banned that yet?
Monkeys are terrifying to me. Ahah, I’d have no problem with them being banned.
“The woman is in critical condition.” She’s not dead?!
nope
Dogs rip people’s faces off too… I fail to see their logic?
@SladeTheGreyFox - Girls are too slow because of their periods
Anywho, Cornelius and Zira were pretty much harmless
I’ve always thought it was a bad idea.
Creepy ones like that one? nooo way..
Nice ones are ok though..
Sure, but they have to take responsibility for its actions. Just like a dog owner has to.
Uh oh. Have you seen Conquest of the Planet of the Apes? I think it is coming true!!
Did anyone stop to ask if the women did anything to the chimp? I bet not!
ALL Animals are dangerous if not properly trained.
PEOPLE ARE MORE DEADLY THEN ANIMALS HALF THE TIME!
So should we all be killed?
I don’t know much about chimps, so I can’t really say. If they’re more dangerous than the average housepet, then totally ban them. If not, then… I dunno, don’t.
I am, however, annoyed by all the people I hear around town who think the chimp should not have been shot. First of all, if a dog did that to someone, it would soooo be put down. Second of all, the cop who shot it was cornered in his car. What was he supposed to do, run? Fat chance.
Strangely, a chimp attacked someone near where I live a few days ago (unrelated incident). The police tranq’d it and no one was seriously injured.
Why in the world someone would even want a chimp as a pet, I don’t know. They’re gross.
I watched a show on this.
Apparently they can only be owned until they’re like 4 or 8 or something, at which point they become really aggressive and can’t be kept with humans anymore.
So yes, probably.
I just assume the show is telling the truth.
Wait, I mean no.
No people should not be able to own chimps.haha
Yes.
I don’t think so. They’re not domestic and can’t be trusted like a dog. There’s a difference. But who would want to own one? It’s like owning a fat, hairy short man.
I do realize that dogs tear off people’s faces too…but still. There’s a huge difference.
I don’t think chimps are appropriate pets. Chimps are incredibly strong, about 5 times as strong as an adult man, if I understand correctly. Most dogs don’t compare to that in terms of strength.
@DrugInducedDuck - Unlike dogs, who have been bred to be tame and obey humans for many generations, there’s probably been much less selection for calmer temperaments in chimps –thus, on average, I would say they are much more dangerous pets than dogs, since they are less likely to be submissive. That’s the difference, as far as I can tell.
well no because they’re wild animals. on the other hand my mother was bit in the face by a dog when she was twelve, so if THAT is the only reason they’re paying attention to it now, then let it be.
They are no pets.
Baby ones, yes, since thay are cute then. But they should kill them off when they get big.
@just_the_average_jane - domesticated or not, all animals have instincts, and dogs can easily be trained to be violent, just like chimps can easily be trained to be friendly. My mom had one, it was a great pet.
I think that chimpanzees should be allowed to have people as pets.
I’ve actually heard that there are some monkeys, not necessarily chimps, that are extremely volatile.
But at the same time, there are abnormally violent pets of every kind: dogs, cats. Alright, I guess a violent fish wouldn’t be a big deal, but I digress…
I suppose people should understand the risk that they are taking when taking on one of those pets. I don’t think a ban is really necessary.
@playdoughKID - haha, well said
No.
No….I feel bad for the chimp. He should not have been kept as a pet!
@DommieGirlLovie - Haha I never thought of it like that.. I’m certain that you’re right. What the hell did the woman do to the chimp to make him so angry he wanted to rip her face off? Maybe she took his bananas!!
no
no way. only creepers like michael jackson do. and obviously, they’ll rip your face off if you do!
you wanna pet a monkey? go to the zoo!
Humans disgust me. They are not domestic animals. Leave them in the fucking jungle or I’ll take you out there and see how you like living away from your natural habitat.
Wow, I am one angry bitch as of late.
Yes, they should. If a person wants to take that risk it is no business of the Government.
A chimp is a wild animal. It was following its natural instincts. If you are stupid enough to try to domesticate one & keep it in a cage like that photo then being attacked is a risk you have to accept.
@FreeTheFun - hear hear
@TifanyEde - Hell if someone took my food I’d rip the bitches face off too!
I think it’s unwise to own an animal whose species is not considered domesticated. Too unpredictable.
I would have ripped the chimp’s face off first.
<– is lying.
No, they should live freely in the wild.
Chimps are too big. I want a small monkey though… really bad. I would teach it stuff like karate and dance and I’d make him bring me a drink every once in a while. I’d teach him how to pound it too. Damn… having a monkey would be awesome.
Sure they should be allowed. But you’ve gotta understand its not a domesticated animal.
If one just so HAPPENS to rip off someones face, I don’t wanna hear any whining.
PS. I’m getting a Hyena
It is awful that this woman was injured, but honestly, I have very little sympathy for her. Chimpanzees are NOT meant to be kept as pets. They are NOT domesticated animals, and this woman got what was coming to her, in my opinion. The animal was just exercising its natural instincts as a wild animal.
@DrugInducedDuck - I concur.
@polishswede - The difference is irrelevant; either way, the end result is a ripped up face.
what happened to owning labs and goldfish as pets? too passe? so you go out and buy a chimpanzee? i guess it’s reasonable enough, but you should have to pass some test or something of the nature. otherwise, we’d see more people getting chimped.
I thought that was illegal in the first place. Chimps are huge and they’re strong and they violent (the only species besides humans that engages in warfare). fun to see at the zoo, great when given plenty of space to roam and interact with others (a.k.a. the zoo/ the wild) not so fun in a people house
P.S. that chimp could use some weight watchers
they’re not meant to be pets in the first place. ancient egyptians don’t have hieroglyphics of chimps as pets, unlike dogs. haha
The government has way too much control over things for our “saftey” as it is. Please no more laws about what we can and can’t have in our own homes.
They are pretty close if not sentient!!!
@DrugInducedDuck - lols
that’s scaryy @.@
just get a kid, not as hairy
I heard about that story [or a similar one - the monkey was in Navy Commercials]. She was raising him “like a human being,” spoiling him with lobster, and buying him other foods. They asked the question, “should a chimp be raised like a human being?”
The answer is no. A human being and a chimp *are not* the same. They have similarities, since they share the same ancestor, but just like every person learns differently and need dif. environments, animals should not be raised like chimps.
Well, Chimpanzees aren’t domestic animals. They don’t belong on someone’s lap like a dog or cat does. I doubt one would even flourish in someone’s home. So, no.
@DrugInducedDuck - Maybe those dogs can give you a rhinoplasty.
Heard about this on the radio this morning.
Even the trainer that they spoke to said that no matter how well trained your chimp is, it can quickly turn aggressive at any point.
The one chimp he owned for years was so well behaved, and one day he unlocked his cage and basically opened up the barred window basically saying, “Look how easily I’d be able to escape”
So, I don’t think so
Women have been making monkeys out of men for years, and now men won’t be pets?
This is awesome news.
@jenessa1889 - Technically it is illegal.
But this lady has had the chimp since before that law was in place, and they decided not to count the possession of the chimp as an illegal action because of that fact.
*shrug*
@Magsterzz - oh I see, sort of a grandfather clause. well serves her right for assuming the law was stupid. If they made a law banning a pet I had, I would assume they did it for a good reason and give the thing up until further notice
@hellaz - I think they’d probably lack the precision.
yeowch! (x_x) I’d say not…….
like my psychology prof said: chimps are anything but nice in real life
On T.V they look cute and all but they’re really vicious
Hell no. Chimps are violent.
@DrugInducedDuck - Nonsense.
yeah um that chimp looks kinda pissed if you ask me…
No. I don’t think they’re domestic animals…
Uhm, NO.
The ownership of any of Gods creaters comes with great responsibility. The fact that this woman and her late husband maintained a standard of life for this chimp that mirrored a young child wasn’t healthy. Sooner or later it was bound to throw a tantrum that would not end well. Guess what? That day came. Outlawing ownership may be a bit extreme. Permits should be issued based on living quaters and ability to maintain those standards for such an animal. I do think the laws already on the books banning ownership of predatory animals such as big cats is enough.
That was so bizarre. I don’t think the government should regulate things like that, but this was certainly a good reminder that wild animals are wild and it’s wise not to trust them too far. Although many have been tamed and seem fine, these kind of incidents happen every now and then. I felt so sorry for the owner, too. Imagine having to kill (or attempt to) your beloved pet who is trying to kill your friend. Just awful.
@roaritsamonster - The woman who was attacked was a friend of the owner,and therefore was an innocent bystander.
We are so quick to transfer human like traits to animals, dogs included. Ultimately they have instincts that are not always in the best interest of humans and sometimes humans suffer because of that.
Chimps are extremely intelligent, and strong animals find out more here.
I think we all feel sorry for the chimp, but when an animal attacks a human (or another animal that we want to protect) then that animal is put down.
Ummm…. naww.. maybe smaller primates, but a chimp? That’s like trapping our evolutionary great-grandparents in cages!
@Dare2BDiferentt - haha I hadn’t thought of it that way
Holy fuck. You gotta be kidding me right?
I want the right to own a chimpanzee. I don’t want a chimpanzee, but if I wanted one, I want to be a able to own one.
A chimpanzee could kill an elderly women if so inspired.
A chimpanzee could fuck you up.
What else do you want? You want to own a chimpanzee? It can kill you!
I don’t want the government telling me I can’t own a chimpanzee.
No wonder we human being are the true manager of the ZOO of the earth, we control every species living in all habitat actually.
Therefore we don’t need to cage them at home!
If that is the case then they should ban the owning of pit bulls as well. Lately in Dallas there have been numerous cases of people being mauled by this breed of dogs.
Chimps are intense, but I don’t see how the face ripping changes things.
Hey. Don’t post pictures of our president. That’s racist.
@DrugInducedDuck - I agree. Dogs rip people’s faces off all the time. People just have to realize that ANY animal is just that, an animal, and even beloved pets can freak out and turn on you. My darling cat attacked me once, requiring an emergency room visit, a tetanus shot and lots of antibiotics.
This was a really fluke thing, and horribly tragic for this woman and her friend. By all accounts, this chimp was very well loved and well trained, and capable of more than many humans.
We read this in my journalism class tonight because of the style it’s written in. Isn’t that crazy?
My friends grandma had a chimp. And just think, it’s the animal that we’re closet to being related to.
I think people need to realize that they’re wild animals and get moody with age. Common sense.
ouch
If it’s not a traditional pet like a Dog or a domestic Cat, you know, something humans have bred for a purpose, then no it shouldn’t be a fucking pet. No Lion, Tigers or Bears. No apes, monkeys or primates. No spiders, lizards, birds, snakes, crocodiles, scorpions, fish or whatever the hell have you. No!
This is why I abide by one of the most important rules in life:
Don’t own an animal that can bite/rip off your face.
She deserves to die, not her friend.
By the same logic we could argue to make dogs illegal.
But, I’d think primates are also not as domesticated, and really not suited as pets.
Chimps are wild animals. They are always unpredictable, no matter how well trained. I always thought there were laws preventing people from owning exotic creatures such as this, but the laws are apparently pretty flimsy.
Sadly, both the people and the animals suffer as a result of keeping a wild animal as a pet.
wait a tick….
does that mean the chain of events leading to the planet of the apes won’t be able to occur?!?!?!
oh piss off Mr. Heston……
oh wells, another scifi fantasy down the drain!!
No, they’re not domesticated animals.
I’ll admit that there was a time I wanted a monkey, but I grew up…as for them being banned, I say no. Just because they aren’t “popular” pets doesn’t make them bad pets. Its all in how they are raised, such as dogs being raised to fight, its not the animal’s fault, its the owners.
Now if your chimp is going around killing people, then yes, take it to the zoo or something, but if you are in control and its for your entertainment, then more power to you.
Another thing to think about is if they do ban them, all that means is that it’ll become more dangerous to get them. I’m not saying that they aren’t already being smuggled in, but when something becomes illegal, the path to getting such things becomes more dangerous.
I heard this story on the radio this morning. It’s sad that the owner who had invested so much time and care ended up being “responsible” for such a disaster! I don’t trust “domesticated” animals as it is and wouldn’t trust anything that doesn’t have its own enclosed habitat (caged hamsters or goldfish seem quite harmless!) I don’t think it’s ever wise to try and domesticate a wild animal because they’ll never lose their animalistic instincts.
I don’t think they should be owned. Who are we to take animals and make them our pets? Of course, I’m not referring to domestic dogs and cats because according to animal planet most were breed specifically to be domestic and were never in the wild but animals like chimps, tigers, snakes, those animals should be free.
peopel think chimps are these funny, docile creatures and you see them all the time in hollywood and think “aw how cute and funny.”
No.
this isn’t the first instance where a chimp devastatingly maimed a person.
they have incredible strength (i read they can lift 3 times their own body weight) and are capable of extreme brutality.
we live in a free country. your funeral.
As I understand it, the Chimp was a self-important celebrity. (appeared in ads for Coca-Cola and Old Navy.) Those types tend to be abusive enough. The Chimp was also on xanax, a drug known for making unstable humans more unstable.
Chimpanzees have traditionally gotten “good press” from the media and the culture, having often been portrayed as childlike and friendly semi-humans. The fact that they are our closest surviving cousins in the animal kingdom, possessing more than 98% of their DNA in common with us, has also gotten widespread play. Indeed, we DO have much in common.
However, that very fact brings with it a cautionary note. One has only to glance at a daily news source to realize just how savage even a “civilized” human being can become. Like chimpanzees, our origins are those of anthropoid ancestors who were more efficient at surviving (and killing!) than competative species. Chimpanzees, in the wild, also form into clans and tribes, fight for supremacy among themselves and war on other tribes of their kind for resources.
And they commit murder.
Now, what is to be expected from someone, chimp or human, who has been kept by an alien species and, while well treated, yet kept in confinement and away from other members of his own species… to include the opposite sex? This was not a child, but a adult male being kept like a child. And this adult male had inherited all the survival instincts, the urge for freedom and the savage power of his species. When he was taken from his cage and herded toward a car by another human, those instincts suddenly arose. He “snapped”… like any number of adult men have when under unnatural and long-term stress.
It’s one thing to keep animals in large inclosures in zoos with other members of their species. It’s quite another to keep an ape in your house and try to raise him as a member of your family. An ape will never be that. They are not dogs and cats who have been bred for domestication for thousands of years. They are too much like us. And therein lies the danger.
No. Especially if they’re going to give them ZANTAC. Non-domesticated animals should not be kept as pets. It affects them in a negative way that some may not have reactions to until several years later. Then they have a hard time readjusting to life in an animal sanctuary. These descriptions are only what I have seen from Animal Planet.
It’s a risk with any animal to have them as pets. Dogs, cats, fish, hamsters etc have proven to be a bit more successful at not killing us as than other animals various people have decided to try and domesticate as pets. An example of this is Pitbulls in Canada which to my sadness (because I wanted one) are illegal and any pure breeds and put to sleep
This chimp was a show chimp. He’s been in commercials and many animals considered wild have done acting. We need them or decided we need them for our entertainment so my guess is that wild animals as pet wills never be fully legal.
This was also the first attack this chimp had ever committed in his 14 years so maybe if an autopsy is done it could be discovered that maybe he had something wrong with his brain. Only says this because a few people in the clip I saw about this were very upset because it was not in his nature to do something like this.
Having a chimp as a pet is probably not a good idea.
Even less of a good idea is to maltreat a chimp by giving it too much food with not enough nutrients in it and not letting the chimp exercise. That chimp does not look healthy. I’m not saying that poor woman had it coming to her (I really, truly hope she’ll be okay!), but treating any animal like that for any length of time will eventually make it angry.
Even before this happened I was against the owning of monkeys as pets. Even experts and owners will say that you’re lying if you say you’ve never been bitten by your pet monkey and that you know it can turn on you at any time. I don’t know why people would take such a risk. They are wild animals! They’re not like dogs, whose brains have changed drastically during all the years they have been in domestication and are far from wolves (even wolves born in capitivity).
No
chimps are wild animals; they’re going to act like wild animals.
it’s probably not a good idea, even if it is legal, to own one as a pet.
i wouldn’t have any problem with the ban, because i was fairly against anyone owning wild animals in the first place — i wasn’t so blind to think that stuff like this couldn’t/wouldn’t happen.
it really depends. i personally wouldn’t because i like a companion, like a dog :]. but if i were to get a chimp i would have a trainer help me train it for about a year, i at all possible because, i don’t know about chimps!
i saw the video of the owner of the chimp, so sad!! :[
YES! chimps and monkeys and zoo animals should all be kept in the wild where they belong, it’s just their natural way of living and surviving. maybe if you train them properly and feed them the right foods, maybe… but the picture that came with this post doesn’t look really healthy… some people that want wild animals end up either not feeding them proper food or just let them roam free.
People generally shouldn’t own animals that are stronger than them or if they do, they should be smart enough to NOT get ripped apart by those “pets”.
People generally shouldn’t own animals that are stronger than them or if they do, they should be smart enough to NOT get ripped apart by those “pets”.
People generally shouldn’t own animals that are stronger than them or if they do, they should be smart enough to NOT get ripped apart by those “pets”.
Absolutley not. They have not been domesticated like dogs have. Monkeys are wild animals. But I also don’t think pit bulls should be allowed either. Any animal that has the potential to kill you should be banned.