Purpose: This bill would bar the interstate movement of chimpanzees, macaques, capuchins, and other primates if they are to be kept as “pets.” The Centers for Disease Control already restricts importation of primates as pets into the U.S., but there is no corresponding federal regulation on the movement of these animals between states.
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Status: Passed the House and received in the Senate.
Action: SUPPORT. Please contact your U.S. Senators and urge them to support H.R. 2964. Tell your Senators that keeping primates as pets is simply unjustifiable. It is inhumane to keep primates in private homes as their needs cannot be properly met. In addition, these animals are wild animals and therefore pose a serious risk to humans when kept as “pets.”
Talking Points for your letter:
- If enacted into law, H.R. 2964, the Captive Primate Safety Act, would bar the interstate movement of chimpanzees, macaques, capuchins and other primates if they are to be kept as “pets.” The Centers for Disease Control already restricts importation of primates as pets into the U.S., but there is no corresponding federal regulation on the movement of these animals between states.
- Primates pose a potentially deadly threat to humans because of the risk of disease transmission, including yellow fever, monkey pox, Ebola and Marburg virus, Foot and Mouth Disease, tuberculosis, and Herpes-B. Animals who present such a risk should not be kept in private homes — near children and with direct access to other members of the public.
- Beyond the latent diseases that primates may carry, possessing primates as pets presents additional safety risks. These animals may become aggressive as they get older, as recent disturbing newspaper headlines indicate. There have been a minimum of 126 incidents involving primates in the U.S. within the past ten years. Since 1995, 68 adults and 29 children have been injured, 99 primates have escaped in 60 separate incidents, and 37 animals have had to be killed as a result.
- Wild animals belong in the wild. Keeping primates as pets is unnecessary and unjustifiable. The risk to the animals themselves and the people who live near them is too great. The Captive Primate Safety Act will protect primates and people across the country.