Our Work - Campaigns

Our campaign work is focused on the prevention of abuse of primates in captivity, with the specific aim of putting an end to the primate pet trade in the UK and abroad. We work in partnership with other charitable and not-for-profit organisations and are a leading voice in lobbying local and central government to implement changes in the law. We act in an advisory capacity in diverse forums on the subject.

 

Why we campaign:

  • Currently over 5,000 non-human primates being kept privately in the UK.
  • All monkeys are wild animals and inherently unsuitable for keeping in domestic situations.
  • UK law allows for the legal keeping of primates as pets, despite lack of recognised care standards and insufficient enforcement of licensing laws, leading to many pet primates being kept in inadequate conditions.
  • Lack of adequate species knowledge, diet, veterinary care, social opportunity and space leads to mental, physical and emotional suffering for pet primates.
  • Trade in primates as pets impacts on the illegal wild animal trade, thus adversely affecting wild populations.

 

Rachel Hevesi with RSPCA               Neglected pet monkey               Gill Maltby at Westminster

How we campaign:

  • We lobby central and local government and work with partner organisations and the wider public in spearheading the campaign.
  • We work within parliamentary working parties with the aim of changing UK animal welfare legislation.
  • We act as an advisory service to potential pet monkey owners in order to provide them with clear information to discourage them from purchasing a primate.
  • We publish information in the public domain to raise awareness of the issues surrounding the
    primate pet trade.

 

Our work has contributed to the following advancements:

  • Political recognition that the trade in primates as pets is an issue that should be on the agenda. Government and all-party recognition that primates do not make suitable pets.
  • Recognition that primates need a code of practice as part of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Wild Futures invited by Government to contribute as consultants.
  • High-level institutional and individual support including: The International Primatological Society, The Primate Society of Great Britain, Professor William McGrew, Ian Redmond OBE, Frans de Waal and 300 other world experts.
  • Co-written papers with other high-profile welfare organisations such as the RSPCA.
  • Coverage in national press highlighting rescue stories of individual monkeys.
  • Strong public support: demonstrated by 25,000 petition signatures.
  • Most comprehensive UK licensing survey data set.

Click here to download our "Primate Pack". Produced in conjunction with the RSPCA, the pack gives comprehensive information on the trade in primates as pets in the UK.

Visit our Support Our Campaign page to see how you can help us to stop the primate pet trade.