'Jeffords bill targets exotic pets'

Jeffords bill targets exotic pets

Evan Lehmann (NewsMaster) -

WASHINGTON — Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., has had it with pet dealers monkeying around.

The Senate passed a bill Tuesday introduced by Jeffords that would outlaw the transport of primates across state lines for sale as pets.

With almost 15,000 pet apes, monkeys and prosimians, such as lemurs, now in the United States, Jeffords says the increase creates a hazard for humans who could contract primate-carried diseases like the Ebola virus.

"Unfortunately, too many people see these primates as cute house pets without considering the hazards they pose," Jeffords said in a statement. "This legislation is needed to help federal agencies control and monitor these species within our borders."

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• Jeffords bill targets exotic pets

Comment #1 MissyG (64.136.27.228) -

This is a good article and a good bill/law as well. There are some animals that just shouldn't be kept as pets -- especially ones that can transfer diseases to humans.

Comment #2 Edward (152.163.40.173) -

Why do so many people wants monkeys for pets? Isn't that like having a terrible 2-year old that never grows up?

This desire for monkeys seems to have spurned the fraudsters in Cameroon and other African countries to rip off people in the USA that want monkeys.

Comment #3 dexter (63.176.159.168) - Wed Oct 8 14:57:01 2008

i think if you know the of the possible risks of having a monkey as a pet you should be able to have one.. we are all adults and we know what we are getting ourselves into.. let us be the judge of what we should or shouldnt do..

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