Ticking Time Bomb! PETA Implores Feds to Confiscate Exploited Raymondville Chimpanzee From Local Vlogger

For Immediate Release:
September 5, 2024

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

As the new HBO docuseries Chimp Crazy highlights the dangers of private ownership of chimpanzees, such as Travis and Buck, who were killed after attacking humans in their homes, PETA has fired off a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) urging federal officials to remove Bow—the last remaining solitary chimpanzee in a private home in the U.S.—from the custody of Raymondville resident Aya Katz.

Katz confines Bow to a barren pen in her Raymondville home and exploits him in paid videos on YouTube, even though she doesn’t have the federal license required to exhibit animals and was cited by the USDA last year for a violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act following a complaint from PETA. The group has also looped in the U.S. Department of Justice, since keeping a member of a highly social species in solitary confinement, as Katz does, likely constitutes a violation of the Endangered Species Act.

“Aya Katz’s relentless exploitation of this powerful primate can only end in one way, and that’s disaster,” says primatologist and PETA Foundation General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet. “Bow is likely to turn on Katz or someone else in her home, which would likely lead to his death, and PETA is calling on federal officials to remove Bow from this dangerous situation and get him to a reputable sanctuary before it’s too late.”

PETA has facilitated the rescue of 24 chimpanzees—including seven who, having been held in solitary confinement, were given the opportunity to thrive in a sanctuary environment with other chimpanzees. The group encourages everyone to support the bipartisan Captive Primate Safety Act, which would ban private ownership, private breeding, and all commercial activity involving primates used in the pet trade.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kitsfor people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.