Tamara Brogoitti pet chimpanzee shot dead by Oregon deputy for attacking owner daughter. Animal rights group, PETA condemns shooting as ticking time bomb in the making.
An Oregon deputy sheriff shot and killed a pet chimpanzee after the ape got loose and mauled the owner’s daughter woman, according to reports.
The chimp, named Buck, got out of its cage around 8 a.m, Sunday morning and attacked the 50-year-old victim in Pendleton, prompting the woman’s mother to call police, KHQ-TV reported.
Tamara Brogoitti, 68, told the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office that Buck bit her daughter in the torso, arms and legs, forcing the injured woman to lock herself in a basement bedroom.
When deputies arrived, they found the chimp roaming outside the house — and received permission from Brogoitti to shoot the ape so they could get to her injured daughter.
The chimp was shot in the head and died at the scene. Broigotti and her daughter were taken to the hospital for treatment.
Ticking time bomb
Brogoitti, who used to run the Buck Brogoitti Animal Rescue ranch until 2019, had owned Buck for 17 years prior to the weekend incident, the East Oregonian reported.
Oregon outlawed owning chimpanzees in 2010, but the law allows residents who previously owned the apes to keep them — Brogoitti among them.
However, the incident irked ape and animal rights groups.
In a statement Monday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said it had warned the county sheriff’s office in the past that Brogoitti had ‘a ticking time bomb.’
‘PETA warned state authorities that Tamara Brogoitti had created a ticking time bomb by engaging in direct contact with a dangerous ape,’ the group said, ‘and now, he is dead and a woman has been mauled because of Brogoitti’s refusal to follow experts’ advice and transfer Buck to an accredited sanctuary.’
Adding, ‘Since long before the chimpanzee Travis ripped a woman’s face off in 2009, it has been clear that attacks are inevitable so long as people continue to treat chimpanzees like Chihuahuas.’
