The House of Representatives voted today to approve the Captive Primate Safety Act (HR 80), with 323 lawmakers in favor and 95 opposed. The bill, which would make it illegal to transport chimpanzees and other primates across state lines for individuals' use as pets, was debated Monday with a vote (initially expected following debate) postponed until today.
The bill's co-sponsor Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) said the debate centered on two main points of contention: that regulating primate ownership was not a pressing national issue, and "that it would not stop the ability of some people to have a chimpanzee as a pet in their own home."
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One of the nation's leading primate researchers told me that the Captive Primate Safety Act would ultimately not make the public safer, and would merely inconvenience people who currently own primates. What do you think about it? Would any primate owners like to express their views?
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