Wild Futures Winter/Spring Newsletter 2023

The UK Primate Pet Trade
Shockingly, in 2023, it is still legal
to keep primates as pets in the UK.
Primates are wild animals inherently
unsuitable for domestic settings; they
are built perfectly for survival in their
natural habitats, and are not suited to
lives of confinement and solitude. Wild
Futures has been fighting to change
the legislation around this, and make
ownership illegal, for over 20 years. In
those two decades, we have experienced
first-hand the devastating effects that the
pet trade can have on individuals. Since
2001, we have rescued over 60 primates,
rehabilitating them at our sanctuary in
Cornwall, whilst battling on to prevent
any further suffering in the pet trade.
The current legislation for keeping
primates as pets in the UK offers minimal
protection for the welfare of these
animals. Many species of primates require
a Dangerous Wild Animals Act License
(DWAA) in order to keep them, however,
some species, such as marmosets and
tamarins, require no license at all.
The DWAA license is intended to ensure
the safety of humans when dangerous
wild animals are being kept privately,
and takes minimal consideration for
their welfare, which is covered by the
Animal Welfare Act. The high rate of noncompliance
to DWAA licencing laws
surrounding privately owned primates
allows the possibility of monkeys living,
unnoticed and unregulated, within the
UK pet trade every year.
Wild Futures surveys all local authorities
in England, Scotland and Wales on an
annual basis, requesting statistics of
DWAA licences issued, specifically for
primates. Each year we see just how
poorly this legislation is regulated - from
primates being approved to be housed
alone despite being a clear violation of
the Animal Welfare Act, to tiny indoor
bird cages being authorised as a suitable
environment.
Kiwi and Gizzie’s previous home
Often taken from their mothers and
families as infants, many are forced to
live a life of isolation and confusion,
denied the opportunity to interact with
others of their own kind, or to even learn
to climb, forage and groom. We see an
extremely high proportion of individuals
rescued from the pet trade suffering with
physical and psychological problems,
often manifesting as behavioural issues
such as pacing and self-mutilation. Most
Kiwi and Gizzie’s home was approved for a DWAA license
of these will never go away despite years
of rehabilitation.
Using data from our rescued monkeys
and our annual research, Wild Futures
works tirelessly to influence politicians
and legislation, as well as to inform the
public about the cruel and damaging
impact of the trade. The Animal Welfare
(Kept Animals) Bill aims to provide
new licensing requirements to ensure
that primates welfare. Needs are being
met by private owners. The legislation
will restrict private keeping to licensed,
‘specialist keepers’, who adhere to
‘zoo-level welfare’. The proposed Kept
Animals Bill is a considerable step closer
to our goal, but it is not the final goal.
Unfortunately, the proposed new bill has
stalled in the process to become law, but
we are keeping the pressure on to make
it a priority once more! We will not stop
until it is illegal to keep primates as pets
in the UK.
Wild Futures at parliament
(Photo credit - RSPCA)
Primates Licensed
as Pets 2021
Lemurs
Capuchins
Macaques
Chlorocebus
Cercopithecus
Saki
Mandrill
Spider Monkey
Langurs
Gibbon
This graph shows the different
types of primates being
licensed as pets in 2021.
Lemurs are the most licensed
species at 65%, followed
by capuchins at 17% and
macaques at 11%. This
graph does not include
data regarding the species
that do not require licenses
(marmosets, tamarins, squirrel
monkeys).
8 www.wildfutures.org | info@wildfutures.org | www.monkeysanctuary.org