Update: Bad news! The bill died in committee.
Bill Description: If passed, this bill would prohibit any person from acquiring a nonhuman primate, which includes gorillas, apes, chimpanzees, orangutans, and monkeys. The ownership of primates by zoos, nature centers, museums, registered exhibitors and laboratories, parks, and research facilities would be exempted from the prohibition. Persons who currently own primates must register with animal control. An initial violation of the provision is a Class 3 misdemeanor and any subsequent violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
[teaserbreak]
Nonhuman primates are unpredictable, no matter how “tame” they may appear. Around the age of two years they begin to assert themselves, often with tragic results to their possessor. Other states, such as Connecticut, have amended their exotic pet legislation to prohibit the keeping of primates – but in Connecticut this action only occurred following the near-fatal mauling of a woman by a “pet” chimpanzee. Virginia should act before such a tragedy occurs in your state.