Let’s see… one, yes only one, person was recently injured by a pet chimpanzee. So naturally Congress had to rush to make BOLD CHANGE! to add even more useless pages to federal laws to make keeping primates as pets illegal (because it’s such a problem, obviously).
So why did we need this so badly?
“There is no reason for any private citizen to keep a primate as a pet, and this trade is driven by unscrupulous dealers who sell primates across state lines for thousands of dollars,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. “Congressional action on this animal welfare and public safety issue will complement our efforts at the state level to dry up the trade and the practice of private ownership of chimps and other primates.”
There’s “no reason?” None? Really? I mean I think owning a primate is utterly repulsive, but I, because I’m honest, can even accept that there might be some reason to do it… similar to how, ya know, people own cats and dogs.
But beyond that, someone ought to tell Wayne Pacelle, a goddamn president and CEO, that making things illegal doesn’t “dry up the trade”, rather it makes it more profitable for unscrupulous people do what they’re already doing…. which always solves the problem at hand.
I guess I can cross the Humane Society off the list of charities worthy of receiving any of my money.
