Primate owner “Laura” was scanning Internet adverts for monkeys she could try to rescue in Britain when she spotted one from a man in the Cotswolds who was clearly finding caring for two common marmosets extremely difficult. This is a common problem — primates are wild animals and keeping them is complex, expensive and demanding.
She contacted the man and agreed to collect the two adult monkeys — one male and one female. They had been kept in a tiny shed in his garden and were in a terrible condition.
“He’d fed them almost entirely on porridge, baby food and fish fingers. When I asked if he had given them any fruit or vegetables, he remembered that he’d occasionally fed them grapes. Neither monkey had ever been seen by a vet. The male had severe dental problems and his tail was a mixture of matted hair and bald patches,” she said.
Illustration: Mountain People
Like many of us, Laura — not her real name — grew up fascinated and enthralled by monkeys, and although she had never intended to keep primates, she found herself rescuing the two marmosets. She soon realized that the female was pregnant and, two weeks later, twin males were born. Soon after, the adult male was booked in for surgery to fix his tail and teeth. While the marmoset was under anesthetic, the vet discovered that his tiny body was riddled with metabolic bone disease caused by poor nutrition and insufficient light.
Sadly the male died during the operation — although, with his twisted bones and body bloated by gas, it seemed a slight blessing when his heart finally stopped.
This sad story does not stop there. Before he died, he had managed to get the female pregnant again — and soon another three tiny males were born.
Laura then rescued another adult male, this time from Luton, and what had started out as a single pair now turned into a family of seven — with the new male acting as a surrogate father.
They all now live in at her family home in Lincolnshire in a specially made enclosure with specialist heating, specific lighting, indoor and outdoor runs and an ever-changing regime of feeding and behavioral enrichment. A contraceptive implant has ensured no more little monkeys have since arrived on the scene and now, finally, both the monkeys and keeper are happy.
However, Laura admits that primates make awful pets.
“They urinate on everything to mark their territory and smell terribly; they need constant care and easily cost thousands of pounds every year to keep. People have this idea that they can touch and cuddle them but I never touch mine as they’re not tame. If I did, I’d expect to be bitten. Even with my most relaxed animal, I wouldn’t dream of it as it would stress him out too much. It’s such a selfish thing to have them as pets. Get a dog or have a baby — just don’t get a monkey,” she said.
Welcome to the world of primate ownership — the legal position is complex, the ethics are troublesome and even the owners themselves have conflicted feelings about keeping monkeys at home.
I had tried contacting several other primate owners but, with this one exception, none would speak to me. I got a sense that they knew it was wrong at some level and were uncomfortable talking about it.
I am a primatologist and have worked with chimpanzees in Africa, orangutans in Indonesia and green monkeys in the Caribbean. I love primates and have dedicated years to working with them, but there is not a chance I would want one as a pet.
However, there are people who want to. An estimated 4,500 primates are privately owned in Britian. While some of these are owned by trained experts and represent specialist breeding groups, the vast majority are pets, living in people’s homes. Often owned by individuals with nothing more than good intentions and the misguided desire to own a “cool” pet, it is clear that there are very few privately owned captive primates in Britian in such a lucky situation as the ones Laura rescued.
Dr Sharon Redrobe — a veterinary surgeon and the chief executive officer of Twycross Zoo in Warwicks — knows first-hand just how hard primate husbandry is.
“By definition, a pet is an animal we touch and play with in our homes and in no way is it in a primate’s best interest to be constantly touched and played with by people. They need their own social groups, are extremely hard to care for and often grow up to be aggressive and impossible to control. Owners then take them to a vet, expecting them to be magically ‘fixed.’ They’re wild animals and, in that respect, no different to tigers. You wouldn’t keep a tiger at home, so don’t keep a monkey,” Redrobe said.
She is quick to point out that in the past keeping pet primates was far more socially acceptable and that places such as Twycross were actually founded by people who liked to keep pet monkeys themselves, but she says times have moved on.
“The world has changed hugely since the 1950s and 60s. We didn’t know any better then, now we do. If you really love monkeys, let them be monkeys. Maybe help them by sponsoring one in a zoo or sanctuary,” she said.
Despite such complicated care needs, high welfare concerns and the serious risks associated with the spread of certain diseases between people and non-human primates, it is still legal to keep primates as pets in Britain — regardless of how endangered they are or how dangerous they might be.
The care of primates is covered by Britain’s Animal Welfare Act of 2006 and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Primates, the “primate code,” of 2010.
The act, which states that animal owners must prevent “unnecessary suffering” and must take “all reasonable steps to meet their animal’s needs,” is hard to enforce as most pet primates in Britain are kept in secret.
The primate code is primarily to explain the welfare and management needs of the animals and a breach of its provisions is not actually an offense — although it could be used as evidence in court in animal welfare cases. The code, which applies to everything from gorillas to lemurs, is further weakened as it is subject to broad interpretation — specific groups are not covered in any real detail.
The keeping of some primate species, such as capuchins, is thankfully restricted under Britain’s Dangerous Wild Animals Act, but many, including marmosets are not listed.
A 2014 Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) report found that 81 percent of pet primates in Britain belonged to the marmoset group originally from South America.
Other primates, such as cotton-top tamarins, are critically endangered and should receive the highest level of legal protection from international trade.
With little awareness surrounding laws and a general lack of consequences for those failing to comply with regulations, many feel that the law should change and that a total ban on the keeping of pet primates in Britain should be introduced.
Primate sanctuary Wild Futures director Rachel Hevesi knows all too well just how weak the current legislation is.
“We’ve had over 150 primates come to us over the years and, without exception, every single one has had physical or psychological problems or, in many cases, both,” she said.
Hervesi wants to see a full ban on keeping primates as pets and sees success lying in a “positive list” style of legislation, where any specific primate species allowed to be kept as pets would be listed.
With no species being proposed as being suitable, this blanket, prohibition-type law means that there would be little room for misinterpretation.
Such legislation is already present in Belgium and several other European countries and has led to not only a reduction in the overall number of primates being kept as pets, but also to an increase in members of the public reporting illicit pet owners.
Hevesi is hopeful that the British government would bring a ban into force in the near future. When the primate code was introduced in 2010, it was agreed that the government would review its success after a five-year period. DEFRA failed to hold that review last year, but has since promised to reassess the legislation this year.
Key stakeholders including non-governmental organizations the Primate Society of Great Britain, the RSPCA, the British Veterinary Association, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Born Free and Four Paws all support a ban on pet primates and are gathering evidence and data for the government review.
“The trade relies on the ignorance of the buyer and the greed of the breeders. We’ve never met a keeper who has deliberately set out to harm their primate pet; it’s a lack of awareness and skills,” Hevesi said.
The image of primates as clever and interactive little human-like animals that can live alongside and play with us might seem appealing — and a recent batch of unthinking celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Beyonce and the Kardashians posing with primates has only added to the problem — but without exception, every expert, academic, welfare officer and zoo keeper agrees that primates are wholly inappropriate as pets.
Whereas dogs and cats have been specially bred for generations as pets — to a point where we have selected specific behavioral and physical traits that make them perfect companions — most primates bred as pets are only the result of two or three generations in captivity and in most respects are still wild and untamed animals.
Renowned primatologist and conservationist Dr Jane Goodall has worked with wild and captive primates for decades and knows them better than anyone.
“Every primate belongs in an environment that is as close to a wild setting as possible. They are beautiful and intelligent animals, but highly complex with very specific needs. They simply do not belong in our homes as pets,” she said.
With such strong opposition to Britain’s primate pet trade, it is hoped that a ban can soon be drafted and introduced to protect the needs and welfare of these highly intelligent, though difficult to keep, wild animals.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry