U.S. House votes to stop interstate chimp trade

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prompted by the mauling of a Connecticut woman last week by a pet chimpanzee, the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to ban interstate trade of apes and monkeys.

By a vote of 323-95, the House approved the legislation that aims to cut off easy access to the animals, which are sought for household companions.

"Images of 'Curious George' and 'Koko' may lead us to believe that these creatures are cuddly and harmless," said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, referring to the famous children's book chimpanzee and gorilla who learned sign language.

"But last week's tragedy and other similar attacks stand as evidence that this is not the case -- that they are in fact wild animals and they simply must not be kept as pets," Rahall said.

Last Tuesday, a 200-pound (90-kg) chimpanzee that had once starred in television commercials attacked and severely injured 55-year-old Charla Nash in Stamford, Connecticut, a suburb of New York City.

The 15-year-old animal was shot dead by police after it also attacked a police car.

The House overwhelmingly passed similar legislation last year, only to see it die in the Senate. But backers now hope that the Senate will provide its needed concurrence to make the bill law.

The bill would prohibit interstate sale or purchase of monkeys and apes, which include chimpanzees and orangutans, as well as marmosets and lemurs. It would have no impact on the use of primates by zoos or researchers or physically disabled people who own trained chimps.