Battles are being waged on many fronts. All agree that the proposed law would have no teeth. But others are subtly revolutionary. West Covina seized Moe for biting someone. Both Moe's owner and the city turned to the 650-attorney Legal Defense Fund for help in deciding what to do, according to Joyce Tischler, the organization's executive director.
Courts often appoint such guardians for children and mentally disabled people.
Moe has interests that an adult male chimpanzee has. Those would include freedom from bodily harm and, perhaps, the right to socialize with other chimps, she says. Kovar Gregory had received Grady from a friend, but Gregory's roommate, Andrew Zovko, had taken care of the animal. When the lease ran out, Grady and Zovko moved out together. Gregory charged Zovko with petty larceny.