Pet monkeys must be regulated like dangerous dogs, say campaigners, after rise in rescues

MONKEYS should be regulated like dangerous dogs, campaigners say, after a dramatic increase in the numbers being rescued from family homes.

Campaigners said celebrity owners such as Justin Bieber, the pop star, and holiday snaps of the animals interacting with humans in countries such as Thailand and Morocco had fuelled a rise in people keeping them as pets.

MP Richard Drax told the House of Commons: “These monkeys – all types of marmoset, tamarin and squirrel monkey – are snatched away from their families as infants and sold in birdcages for well over £1,000 each. There are no licensing demands or special regulations for their care. The pages of Loot, for example, are full of advertisements for these animals.”

Monkey World, an animal rescue centre in Dorset, has been pushing a campaign to tighten regulation of the animals. The issue was debated after more than 110,000 people signed its petition calling for a change in the law.

It has rescued 106 monkeys which were being kept as pets since it was founded 30 years ago. However, 53 of those have been rescued since 2012.

Currently, it is legal to trade the smaller primates as they are not classed as “dangerous” under the 1976 Act. Director Dr Alison Cronin said they should be reclassified to come under the act or should have their own register, similar to dangerous dogs.

“The current legislation isn’t working, as evidenced by what is happening at Monkey World,” she said.

Dr Cronin added that the rescue centre had spent £250,000 rescuing animals from the pet trade in the UK. But George Eustice, a Tory minister, rejected calls for a change in the law, saying existing rules covered neglect of primates and the focus should be on educating people.

A spokesman for Loot said it took down all adverts selling exotic animals as soon as it became aware of them.