A multi-billion dollar trade in exotic animals exists, right here, in this country, with private ownership in the millions.
Estimates by organizations such as Born Free USA and Captive Wild Animal Protection Coalition, put the number of privately owned primates in the United States at more than 15,000.
There's a disturbing phenomenon of childless people using monkeys, as substitutes for the children they never had. They dress them up in children's clothing, train them to sit in a highchair, drink from a cup, and use silverware.
Many primate owners attend "Primate Picnics." In cities across the country, they get together to socialize, and show off their monkeys.
These events are "underground" and not much is known about them. Investigators from the Animal Protection Institute visited a Primate Picnic in Illinois and found these grotesque scenes:
Monkeys in strollers and wearing harnesses.
Monkeys with pierced ears wearing frilly dresses, matching underpants, hats and jewelry.
Monkeys with some, or all, of their teeth removed.
Many of them were clearly disturbed, displaying stereotypical behaviors like rocking and circling in their cages. This dysfunctional behavior is abnormal in the wild, yet common in wild animals kept as pets.
Ease of buying primates
Although it is illegal to import primates into the United States for the pet trade, they are as easy to buy as a pair of shoes. All kinds of monkeys, including capuchins, spider monkeys, baboons, and chimpanzees are sold by backyard breeders at auctions, in pet stores, and over the internet.
Buying primates shows they're desirable pets. This keeps demand, and supply, high.
The nature of the beast
People who buy primates don't seem able to understand, they cannot be domesticated or tamed. They are wild animals, not meant to be living with humans. They are dangerous, destructive and unpredictable.
As they mature, monkeys become extremely difficult to handle. By the age of 5 they are stronger than most human adults, and become destructive and resentful of discipline. They have large teeth and can cause serious injury, especially to children. Biting and scratching are natural behaviors, not eliminated by captive breeding, or living with humans.
It is their nature to establish dominance over others. They are highly defensive of their social group, which means they will attack strangers.
Depending on the species, primates have a life span of 20-50 years or more. Who will care for them, for that length of time?
When your monkey bites someone, you: risk having to pay expensive medical bills, may be subject to a lawsuit, and could have him confiscated and destroyed.
Caring for a primate
Primates need the companionship of others of their kind, and housing like that found in their natural habitat.
Captive primates are deprived of role models, to teach them natural behavior. They are forced to lead lonely and dysfunctional lives.
When rescued, it is often impossible to rehabilitate these animals so they can live with other primates.
The lifelong care they require puts a huge strain on the limited number of sanctuaries able to care for them. Most sanctuaries lack funds and are full, because of the number of animals surrendered.
Unlike dogs and cats, you cannot just drop your monkey off at a shelter when you are no longer interested in caring for him.
They can make you sick
Monkeys and apes carry viruses, as well as fungal, bacterial, and parasitic diseases that pose health risks to humans. They include: Herpes B, cytomegalovirus, shigella (which causes bloody diarrhea), salmonellosis, rabies, tuberculosis, monkeypox, hepatitis and SIV (primate version of HIV).
There is also concern about simian viruses getting into the human blood supply.
You can make them sick
Humans pose a serious health risk to monkeys and apes, through transmission of pox viruses, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and meningitis.
I didn't think it would turn out this way. I can't keep this monster anymore!
Many primates end up abused, neglected and abandoned, because their owners can no longer care for them.
Pet primates are often mutilated by having their teeth, thumbs and fingernails removed to make them less dangerous.
When owners find them too difficult to handle or tire of them, they keep them chained and confined in small, barren cages. Others fall victim to the exotic pet trade, or end up in medical research laboratories or roadside zoos.
The morality and ethics of keeping wild animals in captivity
Primate breeders sell infant primates to make money, and that is all they care about. When you buy a primate, you are kidnapping a baby from its mother, a cruel and inhumane act.
Primate mothers fiercely defend their babies, so they must be held down or drugged to get the babies away from them.
Some breeders will tell you the baby is an orphan, while others try and convince you they are protecting the species from extinction. Both lies. How does taking a baby from its mother, dressing it in clothes and jewelry, and forcing it to live with humans help their survival?
Buying a primate makes you responsible, for the sad and lonely existence these animals endure.
But I love monkeys...
If you loved monkeys, you wouldn't dream of owning one.
You would
Volunteer at a zoo or exotic animal sanctuary.
Get a degree in and work at a zoo or sanctuary.
Travel to see primates in the wild.
Donate money and supplies to sanctuaries.
Discourage everyone you know from keeping exotics as pets.
Help charities spread the word that primates are not pets.
Not visit or patronize roadside zoos, menageries or "sanctuaries" that breed or display exotic animals for profit.
Research laws regarding private possession of exotic animals in your area, and help pass/strengthen legislation banning this practice.
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