How can I adopt/rescue/buy (to live with me at my house) a chimpanzee
in the state of New Jersey?  I am told this is still legal but would
like to know the process that needs to be done inorder to complete a
sucessful adoption.

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Clarification of Question by poofay-ga on 14 Jun 2006 14:46 PDT

It seems from the comments that owning a chimpanzee would not be a
good idea.  Is there a comparable animal (primate ie. monkey) that
would be more suited to living in a household environment.  Please
also understand that my intention is to rescue an animal in need and
not have a "cool pet."

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 14 Jun 2006 15:13 PDT

Have you considered ferrets? They aren't primates, of course, but they
can be interesting pets. Most larger communities have ferret rescue
organizations which find homes for domesticated ferrets who've been
abandoned or abused.

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 14 Jun 2006 15:21 PDT

In case you'd like to consider ferrets, here is a ferret rescue group
in New Jersey:

http://www.sjferret.com/

First you must marry an adult chimpanzee of the opposite sex to yours
and then the rest is easy.

probonopublico-ga
Your comment has put a huge smile on my face!

You do realize that a chipanzee is a lot stronger than a man ?

>>...First you must marry an adult chimpanzee of the opposite sex to yours
and then the rest is easy...<<


Also still legal in New Jersey.

Bad idea, methinks: 

"Keeping a chimpanzee as a pet is not a rewarding experience for the
chimp or the people. It is a journey that begins with the separation
of the baby from its mother and often ends with the chimp in solitary
confinement for over 40 years."
http://www.savethechimps.org/chimps_pets.asp 

"Owners are usually unaware of the lifetime commitment that is
required when deciding to raise a chimpanzee. The chimpanzee may live
as long as 50 years. The owner starts off as the caring ?parent? to a
tiny, helpless chimpanzee infant that is totally dependent on the
surrogate parent - just as it would be on its biological mother. But
by the age of five or six, the chimpanzee is too strong and clever to
handle. As the chimpanzee grows - possessing up to seven times the
strength of a human - it has to be locked away. Even if unintentional,
the chimpanzee can inflict deadly damage to the humans who care for
him. Chimpanzees are also very vulnerable to human illnesses,
especially respiratory problems. A common cold can quickly kill an
infant chimpanzee.

In addition to the physical hazards to humans and chimpanzees, if they
are taken from their mothers as infants and continue to live in
species-isolation, they do not develop appropriate social behaviors
and communications skills. As a result, human-raised chimpanzees can
no longer live with their human family and cannot easily adjust to
life with other chimpanzees.

Chimpanzees, like all wild animals, are not pets. The most wonderful
domestic animal, such as a dog or cat, is at a local shelter waiting
to become your loving companion"
http://www.chimphaven.org/about-chimppets.cfm

"Reality Bites

    * How much time is really involved? Owning a chimpanzee is an
all-consuming task. Infants normally receive 24-hour attention from
their mothers. Chimpanzee mothers will sleep with one hand on their
child so contact is constant. Even people who are prepared to spend
large amounts of time with their chimpanzees overlook the everyday
demands of cleaning messes, preparing food, feeding them, and creating
new games to stimulate them. Bear in mind, captive primates can live
50- 60 years.

    * Sharing Your Time & Space: Chimpanzee owners often don?t travel
because they can?t find suitable caretakers for their pets.
Furthermore, chimpanzees are likely to rebel when owners come home
late from work or have irregular schedules. If time is not an
obstacle, space will be. Homes are not large enough to keep these
active animals happy.

    * Cleaning Up: While infant chimps can be diapered, once puberty
hits most chimps resist diapers and clothing. Additionally,
chimpanzees can make a mess that will daunt even the most practiced
housekeeper. Imagine a toddler having the strength to move tables,
pull down curtains and climb to anything put out of reach. It is
impossible to train chimps to behave exactly like humans.

    * Health Concerns: Nonhuman primates are used frequently in
medical research because they are susceptible to many of the same
diseases as humans such as herpes, viral hepatitis, and measles. These
diseases can be transferred easily from them to us and vice versa. For
in-depth information click here.

    * Dealing with Aggression: Aggression is a natural aspect of
chimpanzee behavior and it is not uncommon for chimps to bite each
other in the wild. Even the best cared for chimpanzee innately misses
the companionship of other chimpanzees and may act aggressively
towards owners. However much a misguided chimp owner continues to love
his or her "child," the chimpanzee will be too dangerous to keep as
part of the family. Many owners, to delay the inevitable day that the
chimp will have to be removed from the house, will pull the chimp's
teeth, put on shock collars ? even remove thumbs in the mistaken
notion that this will make it impossible for the chimp to climb the
drapes.

    * Giving Them Up: The day will come when despite all best efforts
the chimpanzee must go. The owners often feel betrayed by the animals
that they raised and devoted so much attention to. Sadly, they cannot
be sent back to Africa. Most zoos will not take ex-pets because
human-reared chimpanzees do not know chimp etiquette and tend not to
fit into established groups. Tragically, many pet chimps end up in
medical research laboratories. Because owners are asked not to visit
the chimps ? so as not to disturb them in their "new-found happiness"
? the former chimp owners never realize the horrendous conditions to
which they have condemned their friend."
<http://www.janegoodall.org/chimp_central/conservation/issues/as_pets.asp> 

Horrible story
<http://www.chimpcollaboratory.org/news/pets.asp> 

More; 
Read the questions regarding having chimps as pets
<http://www.chimps-inc.com/faqs.html> 

sad stories
<http://www.janegoodall.ca/chimps/chimps_shame_pets.html> 

And more about the perils. 
<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0916_030916_primatepets.html#main>

probono's answer is at first glance correct but untrue. i married a
female chimpanzee and what probono detailled did not happen.

I strongly second politicalguru-ga's comment. Do not adopt a chimp.
They are not suitable for keeping as house pets.

If you have kids in the house, don't even THINK about doing this!

- Hammer

Politicalguru, thank you for posting that.

The story from last year about the guy in California who had part of
his face, genitals, most of his fingers, and a foot chewed or torn off
by a pair of chimps makes me question the sanity of anyone who would
want such a creature in their home.

When I was in college I spent quite a bit of time at a primate
research center that was affiliated with the University of Oklahoma. I
suspect that anyone who really gets to know chimpanzees will not want
to live with one. Although they certainly have appealing qualities,
chimps can be willful, destructive, and dangerous, particularly as
they grow older.

It took me years of drinking to erase from my memory the few days I
spent in primate care (that's caring for primates, not vice versa).
Thanks for bringing it all back. I'm off to the pub.

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/primates/

If you want to rescue an animal in need why don't you just go to the Dog Pound?
Or the Cat Pound?
Or donate money towards an Animal Rescue Organisation or volunteer at
an Animal Shelter/Dog Pound.
Try contacting the R.S.P.C.A.