CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — A bill to ban the keeping of dangerous animals as pets has been introduced in the Nevada Senate.
SB245, sponsored by Minority Leader Michael Roberson and others, is a response to last summer's rampage by two chimpanzees outside Las Vegas that left residents terrorized, one animal dead and another shipped to an out-of-state sanctuary.
Roberson, a Henderson Republican, pledged to push the legislation after two chimps escaped their compound. Buddy, a male, was shot by a police officer after jumping atop cars and veering toward a gathering crowd of onlookers. CJ, a female, was tranquilized but got loose a second time and was moved to a sanctuary in Oregon.
Nevada is one of a handful of states with no restrictions on private ownership of wild animals.
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