Wild Animals as Pets

Right now I am slightly aggravated. I signed on to AIM and aol welcome page popped open on my computer screen. I usally pay no attention to the ads and news on pages like this, but today one caught my attention. On the page was a picture with a woman a bonnet on. The bonnet had a scarf attached to it which covered up a woman's face. The title above the picture was "Charla Nash Speaks on Chimp Owners Death". So curious me keeps reading and I find out that the woman with her face covered had been attacked by a PET chimpanzee.
Read the article here.

If you don't want to read it, let me sum it up for you. Some crazy woman has this pet chimpanzee. The chimp goes crazy one day. The owner asks her friend to help calm the chimp down. The chimp tears off the friends nose, lips, eyes, arms, etc. The police shoot and kill the chimp. And the article is about the chimps owner recently dying from an aortic aneurysm, and asking Charlotte Nash (the 'friend' who was mauled by the chimp) how she felt. Charlotte Nash was sad to hear the news.

Ok, now for my thoughts. Having a WILD animal as a pet is WRONG. How stupid?! Yeah the chimp was trained, and it brushed it's teeth, and played on the computer. Congratulations. The animal is still an animal and a naturally WILD animal at that. I don't consider myself an animal obsessor, but I don't hate animals either. I hate the idea of people taking in wild animals and training them to be humans. One of the picture comments in the artcile showed the chief of police talking to the press and it said that there was 'no idication of what provoked this behavior at all'. Really?! You have no idea what provoked this behavior?! How about the simple fact that this animal was meant to live in the wild and its an ANIMAL?! It viciously attacked the woman and people are feeling sorry for the woman and her chimp? I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it.

Oh, and to add to the craziness of the owner, she 'cuddled' in bed with the chimp, the chimp brushed her hair every night, shared wine with her, and she even took baths with the animal. I'll quit with this now as I suddenly feel like I am going to vomit.