Michael Jackson's chimp 'beaten' in his care, according to expert

Jane Goodall, the world's leading chimpanzee expert, has claimed that Michael Jackson's pet monkey was beaten whilst in the care of the singer.

According to Goodall, who is a British primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist, Jackson's chimp Bubbles was extremely maltreated whilst in Jackson's care. Speaking after a public appearance in Washington DC, Goodall claimed that she did not know who was responsible for "brutalising" the animal, but insisted that she had "ticked off" the singer prior to his death in 2009.

Goodall also said, when asked if a chimpanzee is a suitable pet, that "chimpanzees belong in the forest, and pet chimpanzees are one of the worst things you could possibly do. By the time they get to seven or eight, they're dangerous."

According to TMZ, this is not the first claim of abuse regarding Bubbles - La Toya Jackson's ex-husband Jack Gordon reportedly said: "I saw Michael punch Bubbles, kick him in the stomach. Michael used to say, 'He doesn't feel it. He's a chimpanzee, I have to discipline him.'"

Jackson bought the chimp from a Texas research facility in the 1980s, and he soon became a frequent travel companion to the singer. Though he reportedly slept in Jackson's bedroom in his younger years, Bubbles matured into an unsuitable pet, and was sent to a Californian animal trainer in 2003.

Bubbles currently resides in the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida, where his care is reportedly funded by public donations.