Monkeys should not be kept as pets, says primatologist
Keeping monkeys as pets shortens their life span and exposes them to hazardous conditions, a Gauteng primatologist has said.
Wayne MacLeod, founder of the World Primate Sanctuary in Esther Park, on the East Rand said: “Monkeys have to be kept in a cage in a controlled environment. The biggest misconception is that people think monkeys could be kept as pets to run around the garden.”
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“Monkeys are much like humans. They contract illnesses and diseases such as flu, cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. If you do not act quickly, they die quickly,” added MacLeod.
MacLeod said many people were not educated about monkeys, including veterinarians, Kempton Express reported.
Explaining why the monkeys sometimes became violent, MacLeod said it was because they were taken away from their mothers and their own kind at a young age.
The World Primate Sanctuary in Esther Park is a non-profit organisation and safe haven for orphaned monkeys that need a home, predominantly monkeys that are sick or have attacked their owners.
“We provide a happy, healthy environment for monkeys in the company of their own species,” said MacLeod.
The organisation has around 60 small exotic monkeys, including marmoset, squirrel, tamarin and Capuchins.
– Caxton News Service
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