Paris Hilton’s illegal Kinkajou bites her, lives to tell the tale

By M&C News Aug 12, 2006, 2:12 GMT

Paris Hilton - Nicole Richie, less acrimonious times. (yes, she\'ll have to use a dictionary to decipher if it was a slag or compliment) © Glenn Harris / Photorazzi

The once deemed illegal to own adorable kinkajou named Baby Luv bit newly celibate heiress Paris Hilton her on the arm, earlier this week.

E! reports that overworked Hilton publicist, Elliott Mintz, confirmed that she was “treated for a superficial bite wound at a Los Angeles-area hospital shortly after 3 a.m. Tuesday, received a tetanus shot and was released a few hours later.”

The Kinkajou was picked up on a shopping bender in Vegas last November and caused the heiress, who recently learned who Tony Blair was, to receive a warning from the California Department of Fish and Game.

Hilton’s main residence is Los Angeles, where kinkajous are illegal unless you're a licensed zoo.

PETA had a say in the matter: "The problem with Paris and others buying trendy and small, high-maintenance animals and using them as accessories, is that it helps perpetuate the cruel trade in exotic animals," spokesperson Lisa Lange said. "She probably takes very good care of them because she can, but kinkajous, chinchillas and other pocket pets--even smaller dogs--are not to be picked up and taken down the red carpet."

"Kinkajous scream when they're fed, bark when they're disturbed--they do not lend themselves to being a pet," PETA’s Lange said.

"People see these kinds of animals on TV and think they're so cute and playful and harmless," Patrick Foy of the California Department of Fish and Game said. "In fact, they can be deadly. It's a lose-lose situation. [Exotic animals] are extremely difficult to handle, extremely difficult to properly care for, and it's bad for the animal and usually bad for the person." Reported E!’s Natalie Finn.