The measure was drastically pared back from an earlier version that would have added a much longer list of new animals to those already banned under existing law. Critics said that the original version was far too sweeping.
The action came a day after state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal decried the fact that "lawmakers failed to pass my proposal" following February's attack on Charla Nash by a chimpanzee named Travis.
The bill would add only gorillas, chimps and orangutans to the list of wild animals already prohibited under existing state law: lions, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, ocelots, bobcats and other big, wild cats — as well as wolves, coyotes and bears.
The measure had been bogged down in recent weeks over worries by some lawmakers and pet owners that the earlier language was too sweeping and banned too many sorts of animals. The earlier version would have banned baboons, kangaroos, wolverines, hyenas, elephants, hippos, alligators, crocodiles, rattlesnakes, cobras and pythons.
One issue that had stalled the bill's progress, for example, was the proposed ban on wolverines. It turned out that ferrets, which many people own as pets, are related to wolverines, and ferret owners expressed concerns about that part of the bill, said state Rep. Richard Roy, D-Milford, co-chairman of the legislature's environment committee.
The bill exempts zoos, sanctuaries and similar facilities from the ban, and says it is permissible for people to own a primate weighing less than 35 pounds at maturity that they obtained before Oct. 1, 2003.
The proposal, which passed 151-0 in the House and 36-0 in the Senate, was prompted by the attack on Nash, 55, by Travis, a 200-pound chimpanzee. Nash was critically injured after she went to the Stamford home of her close friend Sandra Herold to help her with Herold's 14-year-old chimp.
Nash, who suffered severe face and hand injuries and was blinded in the attack, is undergoing treatment at the Cleveland Clinic. Police shot and killed the animal.
Months before the attack, a biologist at the state Department of Environmental Protection raised concerns about the danger of a chimpanzee's living in a private home, but his superiors decided not to take action.
Great news! Now if we could get this passed on a federal level! Since many states still allow breeding and selling of chimps I believe it should be a federal law. This would put a stop to people owning chimps for entertainment.
ReplyDeleteTheresa;
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I agree whole heartily with you! I have posted several times here the link for people to go to, to sign one of the many petitions to help pass that very law. It's called the Captive Primate Safety Act. The chimps need all the signatures they can get, this will help not only those in entertainment but also in labs, breding facilities and pets.
Please spread the word and know in your heart that you played a part in helping them. They really are such wonderful individuals, they feel pain, sorrow, happiness, fear, empathy and sympathy just like we do. They are so much like us, it truly is amazing and that's why I try so hard to help people understand that what I did was so wrong and that things need to change for them.
Thank you again and keep them in your heart.