Senator John Schickel of Kentucky proposes to make monkeys "service animals."
In a proposal he submitted last week to the State Senate and Agriculture Committee, Sen. Schickel said that his bill will permit monkeys, particularly individually-trained capuchin monkeys, to live in a home and help people with disabilities perform certain tasks.
Yet, he stipulated that the person with disability must present a permit or medical documentation of their disability to the authorities before permitted to employ one.
Additionally, the bill states that the monkeys, though trained, should only be kept at home and away from the public.
However, Primate Rescue Center Executive Director April D. Truitt criticized the proposal and blatantly showed her disapproval.
She described the proposal to WKYT as "poorly conceived, poor public policy." Furthermore, she said it was a "bad idea. This is the worst idea ever."
"It's not a good idea. Everybody seems to know that, except perhaps Senator Schickel, who I'm hoping will get this message," she added.
She explained that wild animals, like monkeys, do not belong inside a home as a pet or even as a "service animal."
Training monkeys to assist humans takes up to a decade and there are only a handful of success stories. Furthermore, there have been a number of cases wherein these service animals turn on their human quadriplegics, added Truitt.
Aside from the danger it poses to humans, the proposal could have negative impacts on monkeys, too. Truitt said that some trainers remove every tooth on the monkey to prevent injury to their human caretakers.
As of press time, Truitt has already reached out to another state legislator to voice her point. She also wanted to speak with Sen. Schickel and give her opinion.
Sen. Schickel, on the other hand, has not return calls for comment yet.
