The case of Travis, the chimp shot and killed after attacking a woman, may lead to new wildlife legislation

Travis, the chimpanzee who was shot and killed by Connecticut police following an attack on his owner's friend, was being kept without a permit, according to reports by the Stamford Advocate.

A law passed in Connecticut in 2004 required owners of exotic animals and primates to obtain a permit. The law, intended to regulate the importing of exotic animals, included an exemption for primates weighing less than 50 pounds that were owned as of Oct. 1, 2003.

Travis' owner, Sandra Herold, and her late husband, Jerome, adopted Travis in 1995. He weighed 200 pounds. 

But he was also exempted from state law because the Department of Environmental Protection "had no compelling evidence there was a public safety risk" and was owned before the law was enacted, department spokesman Dennis Schain told the Advocate. "Our view was they had this thing for so many years before the legislature got into this, we let them keep possession," he said. 

Schain added that the department had never visited the Herolds' home.

The group Born Free USA was among those who called on Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell to take steps to pass a blanket ban on keeping primates as pets in the state. "Connecticut already prohibits the keeping of big cats, bears, wolves, coyotes, venomous reptiles, alligators and crocodiles as personal pets. Tragically, this law does not include nonhuman primates," said Nicole G. Paquette of Born Free.

"The owners of these animals are playing Russian roulette with people's lives," Paquette said.

The Humane Society of the United States and two U.S. representatives, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), urged action in the form of passing H.R. 80, the Captive Primate Safety Act, which Blumenauer and Kirk introduced in 2005. It has since passed a House vote and a Senate committee but was not enacted before Congress adjourned, according to Fox News. 

Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle accused Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) of preventing the act's passage in the Senate. "But for Coburn, a medical doctor, we'd now have a federal law banning the interstate transport of dangerous primates as pets," Pacelle wrote on his blog. "May the obstructionists now finally get out of the way and allow mainstream voices to impose bright-line standards that will prevent this sort of tragedy from unfolding again."

In a news conference today, Connecticut Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal called for a ban on exotic animals, including chimps, and increased penalties for illegal possession of exotic animals. The Stamford Advocate reports:

"The problem is that the existing law contains a prohibition on certain potentially dangerous animals, but only a limited group, such as tigers, wolves and bears," Blumenthal said. "Incredibly, any restriction on possession of almost all other potentially dangerous animals is left to the complete discretion of the commissioner of environmental protection without any meaningful legislative guidance and insignificant penalties." ...

DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy also called for a ban, issuing a statement that read, "This case clearly points out the unacceptable risk of people possessing large primates and other exotic animals as pets, even those they may consider tame. Although some people believe large primates make good pets, clearly in light of this incident they are not. Consequently I am recommending that the legislature enact a law to ban the possession of large primates as pets in Connecticut."

Gov. Rell said in an interview that she would be "more than willing" to consider a ban on primates, the Advocate reports.

After more than seven hours of surgery by hand specialists, plastic surgeons and orthopedics, ophthalmology and trauma specialists, 55-year-old attack victim Charla Nash has made some progress, according to the Associated Press.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Top photo: An officer leaves the scene of the chimpanzee attack. Credit: Danielle Robinson / Associated Press.
Bottom photo: Connecticut Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal speaks at a news conference in his office in Hartford. Credit: Bob Child / Associated Press.

Comments

[box211]

This woman gave the animal Xanax, as if it were human.
Then she wonders why the animal behaved in an unusual manner. She obviously does not think clearly.

[LadyX]

Xanax had NOTHING to do with this. Chimps are meant to llive in the wild. This lady tried to raise it as a human. Chimps become aggressive and will kill their own kind in order to achieve dominance. This is not fair to the chimp, the victim, or the public at large.

[Scott W]

It's too bad Sandra Herold didn't have tranquilizer gun.
Fire a tranquilizer dart first then call for help.
A large mesh net would be handy too, after all, like you said, there had been warning signs.They had 14 years to get ready for something like this.
Aparently all the chimp wanted was to go for a car ride.

[T.E.]

A tranquilizer dart can take many minutes for the effects to set in, obviously too long to prevent an enraged animal as powerful as an adult male chimp from seriously mauling or killing someone. A “mesh net“, you are kidding right? We are talking about a 175 animal that is probably as strong as a 500 pound pro wrestler on steroids, as agile as your cat, and with the added benefit of canine teeth and jaw power that a bull mastiff would envy, it would have ripped through a mesh net like nothing. If she was going to keep such a potentially deadly animal she should have been carrying a 44 magnum pistol or 12 gauge shotgun with buckshot or slugs at all times, especially whenever he was out of his enclosure. A taser gun might have been an adequate alternative to a firearm, maybe? But really, she should not have been allowed to keep such a potentially dangerous animal in the first place. I know that if anyone in my neighborhood owned an animal like that I would raise hell until they either voluntarily or forcibly got rid of it. I would go so far as to kill it myself if my legal efforts to remove it failed. I’d rather spend time in prison if necessary then have one of my loved ones, my friends, or myself go through an attack like this.

[sloppy]

the chimp was bound to go crazy sooner or later even men cant stay with there significant others for 14 yrs. He must have lost it the perscription ran out and so did his mind

[L.A. Voter]

Sandra Herold and her late husband caused this. They are responsible for what happened to her friend, and they are responsible for Travis' horrible, torturous death.

And she still doesn't get it. I read an interview she gave (as if a decent person gives interviews after an incident like this) and she seriously thinks the issue is whether or not Travis was a "bad" chimpanzee, and she seriously thinks "I loved him" is a legitimate reason to have a chimpanzee. People who keep wild animals in captivity and call them pets are selfish narcissists who want attention. They may say they love the animals, they may even believe they do. But Travis is dead because of that "love." He was a two hundred pound chimpanzee, five times stronger than an adult male human -- and Sandra Herold refused to take any of that into account. She refused to see that this was bound to end badly (as it has ended badly for animals throughout history)-- and now not only is her "pet" who she "loved" dead, but her friend is permanently disfigured because her chimpanzee tore the woman’s face apart. Her brand of "love" did all this.

She should go to jail. No one should have wild animals for pets. We need to get over the idea that our self-will and self indulgence should be the deciding factor in everything or else more people and more innocent animals are going to die.

[Clare]

Having had responsibility for a rhesus monkey for a period of time I can be 100% certain that people who adopt primates as house pets are irresponsible to the point of criminality. If a young, under-nourished, female rhesus can pack some serious jaw strength then face-ripping is small time for a rampaging chimp. The chimp and the friend are the victims here and the owner(s) should be forced to take responsibility for their act of criminal idiocy. This is no different than those people who own big dogs and fail to look after them properly - then of course people start screaming about how 'dangerous' big dogs are. Any animal is going to be dangerous when it's put in an alien situation that is detrimental to its mental health as keeping solitary chimps as personal pets most certainly is. Sorry for the lengthy comment but entirely avoidable suffering really tweaks my nose.

[The Last American]

What can you expect from a nation that would vote for Obama. Don't even bother trying to say how great he is and also say that his presidency ended America's morals on equality. Once we get a president this country has been dreaming of and then we just through him away, but I guess voting to make it seem like we are all equal and ignoring our nations problems is a better moral.
I am just trying to say that this country is going in the wrong direction and McCain would have had better answers to our problems.

[Ol' Whip]

Sandra Herold watched too many Disney films and thought she could turn a wild animal into the son she never had.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

This animal belonged in the wilds of Africa or a zoo. Not in the suburbs.

[eanderson74]

Even if Sandra had a tranquilizer gun it would have taken awhile to subdue Travis. Apparently this attack wasn't the first either. Why Sandra still kept the chimpanzee despite his aggressive tendencies is beyond me. Anyone with a half a brain would know chimpanzees are still wild animals no matter how much one trains it.

[Tina - Western Australia]

I cant help but read this story and know that a chimp such as "Travis" should never be kept that way. He was 14yrs old and deprived of a natural life His "owner" Sandra Herold was 64yrs and fed him on Xanax and used him for commercials - She tried to make him a human! He looks bloated, sad and lonely in his photos. Whilst he was kept as a surrogate friend to satisfy her whims Travis was not socialised with others of his own kind. It is obvious that it would only have been a matter of time before he "looped out" and couldn't cope in a human world, especially on drugs. He only craved some socialisation and maybe a female chimpanzee. I believe that if you looked into the actions of his owner that he may have been drugged for years only to have him remain with her. The keeping of chimps by the public is outlawed in Australia for these reasons and I'm very happy that is the law here. WHAT A TRAGIC STORY. Prosecute that woman please! she has mistreated this animal psycologically for years. It's very obvious to all. Also, someone should have rehomed poor Travis sooner, couldn't anyone see this coming? He was just a sad animal that saw no way out of his hell and went mad. Travis basically committed suicide. Thank god Australia does not have laws that allow us to keep primates as "playthings".

[Leroy Faris]

Xanax makes human beings crazy. Doctors who prescribe this highlly addictive drug to humans are irresponsible and inhumane. My friend was prescribed Xanax for 5 years and the quack doctor kept upping the dose to the point where my friend had to go to rehab to get off it. To give this poison drug to an animal was an accident waiting to happen. The saddest news ever!

[LeeTee]

This woman was irresponsible and self-serving. Why did she think she could treat an animal like a human, then assume that it would think and act like a human? The chimp was an animal, and one that was mistreated. This woman is wacked. I hope that an example is made of her, resulting in fair and equitable laws regarding animals held in captivity. (PS: I also feel that pit bulls and other "highly likely" vicious dogs should not be allowed to breed.)

[Kel]

The Last American: What has President Obama got to do with this?

P/s: Susan Herold had Travis the Chimp all through 8 years of President Bush, can we say that President Bush's policies made it possible for her to own the Chimp for all of the 8 years.

Pp/s: I think Chimpanzees belong in the wild and should never be reared as "pets". It is blatant irresponsibility. She alone caused her friend to be mauled and disfigured. No one else.

[?]

Wow some of these comments? Personal and mental issues shouldn't matter with facts or further action with this subject. Yes it was not right having a chimp as a pet but they did have it 14 years. I don't think it was the owners fault although she does have to be responsible for her pets actions, but she did not force this event to happen. I do not feel it to be ethical to jail the women over this. Im sure her and her friend have been through enough especially the victim. The owner should definitely be responsible for the victims recovery. But I see no reason to knock on her door with burning torches or jailing her.

[Kathy Williams]

Ms. Herold should be jailed. I can't believe how deluded she was. Feeding this animal lobster, steak, ice cream and sleeping in the same bed?! I would never have gone near her house in the first place. I hope her "friend" Ms. Nash can recover from this horror. What a nightmare!

[Tiara, Brighton England]

This is a sad story all round – a lonely woman who’s lost her husband and daughter bonds with a wild animal, giving it drugs and alcohol and perverting all its natural instincts. The ape is better off dead rather than sitting indoors in a diaper like a giant surrogate baby, unable to roam freely or live a normal primate life. I just hope the other victim recovers.

As tragic as the story is, it’s an exceptional case. It’s much more common for children to be killed by dog breeds such as pit bull, Tosa, Staffordshire and wolfdog. The justification by the parent or responsible adult who left the child with the animal is invariably the same: the dog has never behaved this way before.

Anyone wanting to own a powerful animal, however well trained, should be able to answer one simple question – if it goes crazy and attacks someone, what exactly are you going to be able to do about it?

[Defeo]

I do not think she should be jailed. She should pay for this but she did not force this or make it happen. My heart goes out to the victim and nobody should own a animal like that. I do not believe anyone should own a mean breed of dog either. I hope this lady is ok. But jailing people for this type of thing is going a bit to far and being a bit to dramatic. Letting emotions get away from us over tragedy and making jail too simple can cost us all freedom. and that is a tragedy.

[Very Perplexed]

Michael Vick was imprisoned over a dog's life. How much less important is a human being. I don't get it.

[maxmanta]

Here in Connecticut, local government can steal your property away and hand it over to private interests, and our legislature refuses to pass mandatory life imprisonment law for three-time violent offenders. Yet they are set on protecting us from violent chimpanzee attacks.

Even with a total ban on the keeping of non-human primates as pets, I will not be any safer from a chimp attack than I was a month ago. It was an isolated incident---IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN PERIOD, with or without a ban. As far as the rights and welfare of the animal is concerned, I don't see how it can still be legal to perform harmful medical experiments on them, yet make it illegal to try and give them a comfortable suburban life.

"Jennie" is an excellent novel about a family that "adopts" an infant chimpanzee and raises her as a human child (the parents are both primatologists, doing this as an experiment). The novel ends tragically. Disney Corp. (the great Satan, IMHO), made a movie from the book called "The Jennie Project." The movie was a complete and unforgivable travesty--a cuddly, feel-good version of the original book.

Now I'll never get my squirrel monkey.

TBM