Oregon deputy kills pet chimp after owner reports attack

KOIN 6 News Staff, Nexstar Media Wire

Updated: Jun 21, 2021 / 09:25 PM CDT

A chimpanzee looks on in its enclosure at the Bioparco zoo during a heatwave in Rome, on August 13, 2020. (TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a pet chimpanzee on Sunday in the northeastern Oregon city of Pendleton.

The adult male chimpanzee, who had lived with its owner for 17 years, was attacking the owner’s daughter, according to the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office. The owner asked the deputy who responded to their home on Reith Road to “put it down.”

The owner told authorities the chimp, named Buck, had escaped from its cage and cornered her daughter inside a basement bedroom, according to The Oregonian.

A deputy responding to the call fired one fatal shot to the animal’s head, authorities said.

Both the owner and her daughter were taken to a hospital. The daughter was bitten on her torso, arms and legs, according to authorities.

According to Oregon state law, possession of exotic animals is prohibited with the following exceptions:

The owner is licensed through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The owner has a valid Oregon exotic animal permit obtained prior to 2010. No new permits may be issued.