Primates should not be considered as pets in the accepted sense of the word. They are wild undomesticated animals that cannot be house-trained or fully tamed.
Some species of primate can live for years. Whilst they might look 'cute', when they mature they can become aggressive and have been know to bite and attack their owners. Primates need space, companions and mental stimulation - not what you find in someone's living room.
Monkeys like marmosets also scent mark extensively, spreading their musky smell everywhere. Metabolic bone disease rickets is a common, debilitating and painful, health problem in pet primates caused by poor diet and lack of UV light. Primates have specialised diets - contrary to what breeders may say.
Primates need specialist vets that can expensive and hard to find. Primates can spread disease to humans such as measles and herpes. Anyone keeping them without a zoo licence would have to obtain a new specialist private primate keeper licence to ensure they are meeting the required high welfare standards. The legislation would also see new welfare restrictions introduced on the breeding and transfer of primates.
Members of the public will be able to have their say on the changes as part of an eight-week consultation launched on Saturday. Animal Welfare Minister Lord Goldsmith said: "Primates are hugely intelligent and socially complex animals. When they are confined in tiny cages, often alone and with little stimulation, their lives are a misery.
Born Free and primatology experts agree that primates are completely ill-suited for private ownership.
All primates have complex social, physical, behavioural, and environmental needs and have a well-developed capacity to feel pain, suffering and distress. Nonetheless, subject to certain restrictions in some circumstances, the sale and keeping of primates as pets in the UK and many other countries is currently legal.
An estimated 5, primates are being kept as pets in the UK, including marmosets, capuchins, squirrel monkeys and lemurs. Rescue groups such as the RSPCA and Wild Futures reportedly receive approximately one call a week relating to the welfare of a captive monkey.
In , Born Free commissioned an investigation into the sale of primates in licensed pet shops in England to contribute to a better understanding of the scale and scope of problems relating to the sale and keeping of primates as pets.
With information gathered under Freedom of Information from local authorities, Born Free identified 21 pet shops in England licensed to sell primates. We released our report Pet Shop Primates based on the findings of this investigation.
Recommended Monkey business: Rising interest in exotic pets sees primate ownership. Already subscribed? Log in. Forgotten your password? Want an ad-free experience?
0コメント