Chimpanzee Owners Rethink Choice of Pets

I think there's a level of fear (among) primate owners," said Linda Brent, president and director of Chimp Haven, whose sanctuary in Keithville, La., usually receives about 14 requests to take in a chimp in a six-month period. Since the attack, Brent said 12 owners have called regarding such requests."

Over the next six years, the Harrisons invested $41,000 in three cages for Mikey and Louie, a second chimp they bought. Mikey broke the welded wire of one of his cages and "peeled it back like it was a tuna can," Harrison said.

An adult chimpanzee can be seven times as strong as an adult human. The Harrisons faced frequent cage repairs because of that strength.

"Mikey would just take the bars of his cage between his thumb and forefinger and squeeze them together, but to put them back in place my husband would have to use pliers. And my husband's a big man," Harrison said."

"It used to be that the real battle was to get (pet) owners and biomedical agencies to agree to surrender the chimpanzees," Truitt said. "Now, we have them convinced, but there's not the funding."

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