House Bill 9187

    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HR 9187

        By Representative C. Smith






  1                         House Resolution

  2         A resolution supporting and urging the transfer

  3         of "King," a male silverback gorilla, from

  4         Monkey Jungle in Miami to Zoo Atlanta.

  5

  6         WHEREAS, "King," a 30-year-old western lowland male

  7  silverback gorilla, was taken from the wilds of Africa as an

  8  infant and sold to a circus, and has lived in a jail-like,

  9  concrete-and-bars cage measuring less than 400 square feet in

10  area for 20 years at Monkey Jungle in Miami, and

11         WHEREAS, except for Monkey Jungle's disastrous and

12  brief attempt to force a female companion upon him a decade

13  ago, King has lived a solitary existence his entire adult

14  life, and

15         WHEREAS, the zoological community has firmly

16  established that companionship is of paramount importance to a

17  gorilla's well-being, and that without it they suffer mentally

18  and psychologically, and

19         WHEREAS, the United States Department of Agriculture,

20  which licenses and regulates animal exhibitors, has suggested

21  to Monkey Jungle that King be sent to an appropriate facility

22  where he would have companionship, and

23         WHEREAS, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation

24  Commission has established new regulations for cage sizes for

25  various animals, and Monkey Jungle is currently in violation

26  of those regulations with respect to King's inadequate cage,

27  and

28         WHEREAS, every primate expert outside the employ of

29  Monkey Jungle who has been consulted on King's condition,

30  including world-renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall, the

31  American Zoo and Aquarium Association, and the Gorilla Species

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HR 9187

    727-114A-00






  1  Survival Plan for North America, has testified that King must

  2  be rehabilitated and socialized with gorilla companions or his

  3  condition will continue to deteriorate, and

  4         WHEREAS, Zoo Atlanta, the premier facility in the world

  5  for socializing once-solitary male gorillas at its 4-acre

  6  outdoor naturalized gorilla exhibit, has made a standing offer

  7  to accept King from Monkey Jungle at any time, and

  8         WHEREAS, Monkey Jungle lost its zoo accreditation in

  9  1992, and

10         WHEREAS, more than 12,000 petition signatures in the

11  form of individual coupons, originating from four continents,

12  pleading for King's release have been presented to Monkey

13  Jungle with no response, NOW, THEREFORE,

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15  Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of

16  Florida:

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18         That the House of Representatives of the State of

19  Florida supports and urges the immediate transfer of "King"

20  the gorilla from Monkey Jungle in Miami to Zoo Atlanta, at no

21  expense to Monkey Jungle, in order that he may live out the

22  remainder of his life with family, companions, and dignity.

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