Experts slam exotic animal domestication

Following Monday?s attack of a Stamford woman by a chimpanzee, some animal experts have been criticizing the controversial practice of keeping exotic animals as pets. Gregg Dancho, director of the Beardsley

News 12 Staff

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Feb 19, 2009, 1:05 AM

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Updated 5,830 days ago

Following Monday?s attack of a Stamford woman by a chimpanzee, some animal experts have been criticizing the controversial practice of keeping exotic animals as pets.

Gregg Dancho, director of the Beardsley Zoo that features three species of monkeys, says these animals cannot be domesticated, even if they have constant contact with humans.

"You're not going to domesticate an animal in one generation or two generations," Dancho says.

Dancho adds that the wild instinct in an animal that has been raised with humans is most likely to kick in when the animal reaches puberty. For chimpanzees, puberty begins around the age of 14.

The chimp named Travis that mauled Charla Nash in Stamford was 14 years old. Dancho says it was natural for Travis to become much more aggressive.