Bill Description:
This bill amends a 2013 Act related to primate ownership by adding an additional exemptions.[teaserbreak]
The 2013 Act prohibited the importing, possession, selling, or breeding of apes, baboons, and macaques. It also banned public contact with those species, along with tethering a primate outdoors or allowing. a primate to run at-large. The exemptions to these prohibitions included accredited Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) institutions, Animal Welfare Act (AWA)-regulated research facilities, wildlife sanctuaries, temporary holding facilities, licensed veterinarians providing treatment, law enforcement officers, circuses, and those temporarily in the state.
H.B. 1551 would add facilities approved by the Zoological Association of America (ZAA) to that list of exemptions.
Background:
It is important to maintain a strong prohibition on the ownership of apes, baboons, and macaques by private individuals and disreputable facilities.
It is problematic to include the ZAA in these exemptions because their standards for accreditation are very poor. This organization see animals as commodities rather than sentient beings, and exists to further their own profit-making rather than to ensure animal welfare. The accredit facilities such as petting zoos and roadside zoos. These are exploitative wildlife attractions — ranging from backyard menageries to so-called “sanctuaries,” to drive-through parks — most of which display various species of captive wildlife for a fee. Disguised as conservation, educational, or rescue facilities, roadside zoos and menageries are among the worst abusers of captive wildlife. Among the more benign discoveries, inspectors frequently documented animals being kept in cramped, dirty cages, often surrounded by trash. Read more about these horrific facilities here.
Our Exotic Animal Incidents Database details specific incidents involving captive primates, many of which resulted in injury or death to people and/or the animal.
Take Action:
Arkansas residents, contact your governor and urge him veto this legislation!