Feb 21 2009
Connecticut chimp’s mother also died by gunshot
The Connecticut chimpanzee tragedy has attracted a great deal of media coverage and even Time Magazine published an article explaining why it happened – well, chimpanzees are not suitable for domestic living and can ‘snap’ at any time, as Travis did. It really is very strange that Travis could have been legally kept as a pet. The hope is that the high interest in the case will lead to measures banning people from keeping wild animals as pets once and for all.
But will it? I learnt that Travis’ story is not unique and his mother met the same tragic and violent end. According to a report in the New York Daily News, his “mom, Suzy, was gunned down in 2001 by a teenager after she and two other primates escaped their Missouri ranch and wreaked havoc”.
Underlying all these tragedies is the cultural assumption that we can dominate animals and do as we wish. The fact is that we can’t. Nature sets its own limits and we should not trespass them. It’s a sad, sad story, both for the woman who got mauled and for Travis who got shot down for having been raised in the wrong place.
