Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Pet monkey
A pet monkey is a monkey kept as a pet. Monkeys are beloved for their entertainment value, resemblance to humans, and human-like abilities. However, primatologists, zoologists, veterinarians, and conservationists oppose the keeping of primates as pets due to the animals' welfare, public health and safety, and conservation of endangered species.
In the United States, most states restrict monkey ownership, whether via licensing requirements or outright bans, but, as of 2016, 13 states allow it. The United Kingdom passed new legislation in 2024 that makes it illegal to own a monkey without a license. The Captive Primate Safety Act, a bill before the 118th Congress, would have a similar impact in the US if passed.
In the European Union, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Hungary have bans on the keeping of primates.
Internationally, government policies on the primate trade are shaped by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty signed by 184 countries to prevent the exploitation of wild animals and plants.
Monkeys have been kept as pets for centuries, though, in the West, up through the 19th century, ownership was mostly limited to the wealthy — notably, royalty — and to those in the business of entertainment.
When the British first began to explore Africa, young monkeys were often captured and taken back on board the ship to entertain sailors. For example, a Senegal monkey was kept as a pet by a ship's cook in the 19th century and entertained passengers with its antics.
Around the turn of the 20th century in the US, owning monkeys became a social fad, a pattern that would repeat over the course of the century, often spiking as a result of media anthropomorphizing monkeys and normalizing their suitability as pets. In the mid-1910s, for example, dancer and fashion trendsetter Irene Castle was seen publicly and in photos with a pet monkey, inspiring fans to seek similar pets. A 1930 news story noted monkeys' popularity with "society folks," referring to monkeys as providing a " ' delightful background' for the summer parties." Similar trends of monkeys as fashion objects were seen in Europe as well.
As the price of monkeys declined over time, more people purchased them as pets. The market for monkeys in the US skyrocketed in the late 1950s and 1960s. Demand in the U.S. for pet monkeys was so great that in 1955 government officials in Costa Rica expressed concern that it was decimating wild populations there. According to the Simian Society, there were 750,000 pet monkeys in the US in 1971—more than the number of registered poodles. But monkeys proved to be much more difficult than poodles to care for. Of the estimated 40,000 monkeys sold each year, roughly 36,000 died within a year. In Los Angeles, health officials expressed concern regarding the "recent own-your-own monkey fad."
Hub AI
Pet monkey AI simulator
(@Pet monkey_simulator)
Pet monkey
A pet monkey is a monkey kept as a pet. Monkeys are beloved for their entertainment value, resemblance to humans, and human-like abilities. However, primatologists, zoologists, veterinarians, and conservationists oppose the keeping of primates as pets due to the animals' welfare, public health and safety, and conservation of endangered species.
In the United States, most states restrict monkey ownership, whether via licensing requirements or outright bans, but, as of 2016, 13 states allow it. The United Kingdom passed new legislation in 2024 that makes it illegal to own a monkey without a license. The Captive Primate Safety Act, a bill before the 118th Congress, would have a similar impact in the US if passed.
In the European Union, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Hungary have bans on the keeping of primates.
Internationally, government policies on the primate trade are shaped by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty signed by 184 countries to prevent the exploitation of wild animals and plants.
Monkeys have been kept as pets for centuries, though, in the West, up through the 19th century, ownership was mostly limited to the wealthy — notably, royalty — and to those in the business of entertainment.
When the British first began to explore Africa, young monkeys were often captured and taken back on board the ship to entertain sailors. For example, a Senegal monkey was kept as a pet by a ship's cook in the 19th century and entertained passengers with its antics.
Around the turn of the 20th century in the US, owning monkeys became a social fad, a pattern that would repeat over the course of the century, often spiking as a result of media anthropomorphizing monkeys and normalizing their suitability as pets. In the mid-1910s, for example, dancer and fashion trendsetter Irene Castle was seen publicly and in photos with a pet monkey, inspiring fans to seek similar pets. A 1930 news story noted monkeys' popularity with "society folks," referring to monkeys as providing a " ' delightful background' for the summer parties." Similar trends of monkeys as fashion objects were seen in Europe as well.
As the price of monkeys declined over time, more people purchased them as pets. The market for monkeys in the US skyrocketed in the late 1950s and 1960s. Demand in the U.S. for pet monkeys was so great that in 1955 government officials in Costa Rica expressed concern that it was decimating wild populations there. According to the Simian Society, there were 750,000 pet monkeys in the US in 1971—more than the number of registered poodles. But monkeys proved to be much more difficult than poodles to care for. Of the estimated 40,000 monkeys sold each year, roughly 36,000 died within a year. In Los Angeles, health officials expressed concern regarding the "recent own-your-own monkey fad."