Notorious Animal Abuser Denied Permit to Keep Apes and a Monkey on Property

PETA Pleased: Neighbors Can Rest Easy After Commission Ensures Risk of Attacks Won't Be Tolerated

For Immediate Release:
November 21, 2012

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Enterprise, Nev. -- After receiving information from PETA about James "Mike" Casey's history of animal abuse—including throwing hot water on a baby chimpanzee and beating chimpanzees—and the danger to neighbors posed by powerful and often unpredictable chimpanzees, the Clark County Board of Commissioners has turned down an application for a special zoning permit for Casey to keep four chimpanzees and a capuchin monkey on property belonging to Clark County resident Stacy Jones.

"This is a victory for the chimpanzees—who will be spared Casey's abuse—as well as for Casey's neighbors, who would be placed in danger of life and limb were one or more these animals to escape," says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders. "Intelligent and social chimpanzees and other primates don't belong in cages in someone's backyard, and wild animals should never be kept as 'pets.'"

According to sworn eyewitness testimony and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection reports, Casey has a history of physically abusing chimpanzees, confining them in unsanitary and squalid conditions, and depriving them of adequate enrichment. Chimpanzees are extremely powerful and often dangerous animals—especially when they are abused and denied everything that's natural and important to them. PETA has obtained a sworn affidavit by a man who reports witnessing Casey punch the chimpanzees forcefully, strike them with a rod, and douse them with hot water. A USDA inspector verified that Casey used his fist to strike one of the chimpanzees, Kenzy, and threw hot water on one of the animals. The USDA recently issued Casey an official warning for denying proper care to Bentley, a juvenile chimpanzee.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.