Action for Primates

Non-human Primates in Private Homes ('Pets')

The issue

There is a legal and illegal trade in non-human primates as 'pets'. In countries where primates are indigenous, animals are captured from their native habitat with hunters often targeting and killing females with infants. The females are sold for bushmeat and their infants sold into the 'pet' trade, often ending up for sale on roadside stalls or animal markets.

The trade in primates for 'pets' inflicts untold pain and misery and has a major negative impact on wild populations, especially the illegal trade in trafficked primates. A BBC News investigation uncovered a sophisticated network involved in the trafficking of infant chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) from West Africa to be sold as 'pets' (Shukman 2017).

Another species impacted is the Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) in Morocco, where it was estimated in 2016 that 200 macaques were smuggled into the European Union each year (Van Uhm 2016). In 2016, following intensive campaigning by a coalition of international animal organisations, CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) transferred the species to Appendix I, thereby increasing its level of protection.

People can also be influenced by celebrities, films and online crazes to obtain non-human primates as 'pets' (Nunes et al 2023). Such was the case with slow lorises (Nycticebus spp), who became fashionable as 'pets' following their endorsement by celebrities and a frenzy in viral videos. The 'pet' trade has had a major impact on the populations of this nocturnal primate, who are taken from the wild, have their teeth cut or pulled out to make them easier to handle before being sold on the street or in markets (IAR 2014).

Non-human primates are wild animals and do not belong in captivity in homes and backyards. They should be living freely with their family and social groups in their native habitat. Depriving them of their freedom, the companionship of others of their kind and keeping them under totally unnatural conditions, is cruel and immoral. The International Union for Conservation of Nature/Species Survival Commission have prepared a succinct fact sheet on this issue, Why Primates Make Bad Pets.

In many countries, such as the UK and USA, the private 'ownership' of non-human primates is legal. It is estimated that there are around 5,000, including capuchins, lemurs, marmosets and squirrel monkeys kept as 'pets' in the UK (Born Free 2020). In the USA, non-human primates are bred commercially to be sold as 'pets' (Seaboch & Cahoon 2021); infants are removed from their mothers and advertised for sale dressed in human children's clothes. They may even have their tails removed to make it easier to put on diapers (Ajax & King 2020).

Reputable humane societies, veterinary medical associations, including the largest veterinary organisation worldwide – the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA 2008) – and the British Veterinary Association (BVA 2014) along with organisations such as the American Society of Primatologists (ASP 2021), Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA 2016) and the International Primatological Society (ISP 2021) are opposed to the keeping of non-human primates in private homes, largely because it is considered inhumane and a public health problem. Moreover, the AVMA believes even using these individuals as service or assistance animals is inappropriate for similar reasons (AVMA 2022). Further, non-human primates are not recognised as "service animals" under the Americans with Disabilities Act (US Department of Justice 2020).

How non-human primates suffer

People cannot provide these individuals with an environment that is remotely like what the animals need based on their species and social status (Soulsbury et al 2009). Even if bred in captivity, non-human primates will continue to have the instincts and behavioural needs that cannot in any meaningful way be satisfied by human beings.

Essentially all non-human primate species kept as 'pets' are intensely social animals whose physical and psychological health are inextricably linked to maintaining strong family units. They will, therefore, suffer considerably in captivity, where they are usually kept singly and always under conditions that fall far short of what is required for their welfare and well-being (Novak et al 2013). They are not, however, the only ones who suffer. When taken from a free-living situation, this results in fractured families and social bonds. This causes extreme stress and distress for those left behind.

Non-human primates kept in a human environment cannot thrive physically and emotionally. Captive individuals experience stress, which often escalates into distress. The forcible removal of infants from their mother, often at birth, and raised in a human household, results in abnormal development and the conditions in captivity lead to severe psychological and physical problems. Such individuals display abnormal behaviour, often stereotypical in nature – a repetitive purposeless movement – and include including circling, pacing, rocking, side-to-side movements, somersaulting or spinning, so-called floating limb movements, self-directed behaviour often resulting in hair loss (alopecia), self-injurious behaviour resulting in sometimes serious lacerations of limbs or other body parts (self-mutilation) and states of being obtunded (depressed). These behaviours are all abnormal and indicate maladaptation of the individuals to their environment.

A study on chimpanzees demonstrated the detrimental life-long consequences that keeping them as 'pets' can have on their mental health (Lopresti et al 2013). Decades after being rescued, two chimpanzees, who were separated from their mothers and other chimpanzees at an early age, still displayed stereotypical behaviours as a result of the psychological and physical trauma they suffered when young.

Furthermore, because of the unique needs of these individuals, no amount of regulation can adequately protect them and ensure their welfare and well-being when they are kept captive as 'pets' in private homes. It is simply not possible to provide for the requisite social and physical conditions.

Danger to people

When kept in captivity as 'pets', non-human primates can become a danger to people. As they mature and become physically stronger, they become unpredictable and aggressive towards humans and can cause serious injuries. To deal with this aggression, people will often resort to cruel means such as removing teeth and nails in the erroneous belief that this will prevent injuries (Ajax & King 2020; Garrod 2016). These mutilated individuals, however, can and do still inflict injuries on people. Ultimately, if the animals become too aggressive and a problem, they may be killed or permanently confined in small cages. Given that many species live for over 20 years, this leads to an extended period of suffering.

Non-human primates may be a source of disease for people (zoonoses), although this requires close contact and the animals are also likely to contract something from people. Such contact is part of the consequences of human encroachment into their habitat, and hunting or trapping for the bushmeat and the 'pet' industry. For example, an analysis at Stanford University has revealed how the loss of tropical forests in Uganda puts people at greater risk of physical interactions with wild non-human primates and the viruses they carry (Jordan 2020).

Way forward

Keeping non-human primates as 'pets' undeniably compromises the health and welfare of the animals. It also impacts negatively on wild populations (Savage et al 2023). Furthermore, keeping them under these conditions creates a substantial danger and health risk to human beings. Non-human primates already in private homes should either be rehabilitated and returned to their natural homes, if possible, or at least be re-homed to genuine sanctuaries where they will have the opportunity to live with others of their kind in an enriched environment.