There has been many documentaries and television reports on the benefits of caring for wayward monkeys and lets be honest there is also a lot of negative reports as well. Today we will address these issues and explore some of the justification behind the supporters and protestors of this contentious issue of adopting/buying pet monkeys.
Firstly lets differentiate the adoption part and buying of pet monkeys. On the internet these two terms are unfortunately frequently used interchangeably. Afterall it is the internet and people do often dilute the terms for one or another reason. Here we will assume buying a monkey from a breeder or adopting a monkey from a shelter or a ex-pet monkey buyer who has changed their mind on ownership.
Now from face value it would be easy to make the decision on the above assumptions that an adopted monkey would give the better overall outcome, however one should never assume 'as it can make an "ass out of u and me". There actually is more fraudsters and rip-offs in this world posing as monkey sellers/monkey foster carers that lure in unsuspecting people who would love nothing better to do than give a poor neglected monkey a good home. These people are usually very good communicators and only communicate on the phone or over the internet. Rarely do they discuss face to face with anybody. The offer of a 'free' monkey usually turns into an offer of a few hundred dollars to "send the monkey on an airplane" to their location. The dollar value can quickly increase due to quarantine/customs issues...... do you see where this is going? uhuh not a good outcome for any kind hearted animal loving individual. BEAWARE.
Pet monkey breeders on the other hand should be more often than not licensed (you can check if they have a USDA number, and all good breeders expect you to ask them and if they advertise it check them out on-line. (just to be sure)
Now lets discuss the issue of whether people should or not be able to have a pet monkey/primate in their home. Is having pet monkey any differnt to having a dog? Sure it is, they need proper treatment and attention as well as take up more of your time and money and unlike dogs are not domesticated animals. So because of those reasons should humans be able to keep them as pets? The answer to that i think is unanswerable, because like other animals there are certain breeds that take on the domesticating process a lot easier and quicker than do others. Some breeds that have less of a pre-disposition to violence than others and so on....
At present there are different laws in certain countries and states that actually prohibit monkey/non-human primate ownership. On the other hand there are countries and states that still allow pet monkeys and have enacted laws to support it.
What do you think?
