Monkey Sanctuary Trust is a unique environmental charity dedicated to:

Woolly monkey welfare, including the welfare, conservation and survival of primates, particularly woolly monkeys and capuchin monkeys.
Capuchin monkey welfare, including Working to end the primate and monkey trade and abuse of primates and monkeys in captivity.
Conserving natural habitats of woolly and capuchin monkeys through education and sustainable living.
monkey rescue, including promoting the rehabilitation of rescued woolly and capuchin monkeys and primates to natural habitats.

Woolly Monkey - what is it?

The woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha) is one of the largest and most beautiful of the South American primates. They live in the middle and upper Amazon basin to the west of the rivers Negro and Tapajos. There are four recognised sub-species of woolly monkey. These are mountain or long-haired woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha lugens), the brown woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha poepiggii), the grey woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha cana) and the brown-headed woolly monkey (lagothrix lagothricha lagothricha).

Woolly monkeys are arboreal (meaning tree-dwelling), spending most of their time high in the canopy of the trees and rarely venturing to the forest floor.

Woolly monkeys have evolved in a way which enables them to exploit this tree-top niche, to travel easily along narrow limbs, to reach nuts, seedpods and fruits at the end of branches, to leap between gaps safely and even to sleep securely 150 feet above the ground.

Capuchin Monkey - what is it?

Capuchins were named after capuchin monks because the dark fur that forms a cap on their heads and extends down in 'side-burns' resembles the cowl or headdress of the capuchin priests.

Capuchin monkeys are one of the most intelligent and adaptable of all South American primates. The first capuchins (Cebus species) appeared 16.3 million years ago in South America and, like all monkeys capuchin monkeys share about 97% of their DNA with humans. All capuchin species are neotropical, in other words capuchin monkeys are mainly found in northern and central South America. Within this range only the howler monkey is as widespread, and the black-capped capuchin or tufted capuchin has the widest distribution of any new world monkey, as capuchin monkeys are found in every South American country except Uruguay and Chile.

Monkey Sanctuary Trust is based at The Monkey Sanctuary in Looe, Cornwall, UK. The Monkey Sanctuary is home to a social colony of Woolly monkeys and a group of rescued ex-pet Capuchin monkeys. The Trust provides advice and support for primate, woolly and capuchin monkey rescue centres and sanctuaries around the world.

Each year the Monkey Sanctuary Trust educates thousands of visitors on monkey life in the wild and in captivity, on the ethics and problems of captivity for woolly monkeys, about ideas for rehabilitation as well as other animal welfare and conservation issues for woolly and capuchin monkeys.

Monkey Sanctuary Trust Home page

The Monkey Sanctuary Trust's Work

History of the Monkey Sanctuary

Contact the monkey sanctuary

Support the woolly monkeys

Adopt a woolly or capuchin Monkey

International Adoptions of capuchin monkeys

Donate to help woolly monkeys

Volunteer to help the Monkay Sanctuary

Become a woolly monkey Keeper for the Day

Jobs at the monkey sanctuary

The Monkeys - woolly capuchin

The Bats that live alongside the woolly monkeys

Woolly monkey Rehabilitation Programme

About Woolly Monkeys

About Capuchin Monkeys

Wildzone - all about capuchins and woollies

Monkey Rehabilitation Programme

Monkey Sanctuary Visits and Talks

Monkey Sanctuary - Educational Resources

Sanctuary Links

Primates As Pets: The Facts

It is estimated that up to 3000 primates are currently living as pets in the UK - often in cramped and isolated conditions.

In order to be kept as pets, primates are usually taken from their mothers as infants – whereas they would naturally depend on their mothers for long periods of time and would maintain close bonds for years. This separation causes acute psychological suffering and lasting damage to both mothers and infants. This also makes infant monkeys particularly needy and responsive to human interaction – which is often mistaken for happiness by their new ‘owners’.

All primates are social animals. Denied the opportunity to interact with others of their own kind, pet primates often develop serious psychological problems such as severe aggression, depression, and/or stereotypical behaviours such as rocking, pacing and self-mutilation.

Primates have physical and psychological needs which are very difficult to meet in captive situations, such as the need for high levels of intense natural light; the need for vertical space; the need for constant mental stimulation; and the need for an appropriate diet. They are built perfectly for survival in their natural habitats, and are not suited to lives of confinement and solitude.

Wild primates spend a huge portion of their waking hours travelling and foraging in search of food. They urinate and defecate wherever they happen to be. In the home, this translates into destruction and mess.

There is no such thing as a ‘domesticated’ primate – all primates (apart from humans!) are wild animals. Chances are, upon reaching adolescence, pet monkeys will become unmanageable, unpredictable and dangerous as they try to assert themselves and as their natural instincts kick in and they do not know what to do with them. Their owners and their owners’ friends and families are at real risk of serious injury. Even small monkeys can be dangerous as they are strong, quick and clever. Pet monkeys who have become threats are often confined to small cages to live out the remainder of their lives with no further hope of social contact.

Some primates can live for forty years or more – a factor which is rarely taken into consideration by prospective pet owners. When pet monkeys outlive their owners (or their owners’ finances or patience!), provisions must be made for their future – but sanctuaries are few and many of these are filled to capacity.

Some primates are known to be carriers of diseases which can and do get passed on to humans. The Simian Herpes B virus - which is carried by a “high percentage of macaques” and is “almost always fatal to humans”- is not reliably detectable by testing.( National Research Council (1998) The Psychological Well-Being of Nonhuman Primates. Washington DC. National Academy Press. p.101). Additionally, diseases which seem inconsequential to humans can infect and kill monkeys.

All primates are threatened in the wild. The keeping of pet monkeys in the UK appears to have a negative impact on wild populations. Although most capuchin monkeys, for example, kept as pets in the UK have been bred here, some of the capuchins rescued by the Monkey Sanctuary Trust were actually wild-born.

Ian Redmond, Primatologist, Biologist and Advisor to the UNEP Great Ape Survival Project (GRASP): "All primates are intelligent social animals keeping them in captivity seldom gives them the quality of life they deserve. Even when captive bred, young primates already having a place in a social group are taken from their mothers for the pet trade, which causes stress to both the youngster and mother, perpetuating the cycle of cruelty. Anyone who loves primates should support conservation programmes, not keep them as pets."

Colin Breed, MP for South East Cornwall: “It still amazes me that we consider ourselves a nation of animal-lovers and yet here in the UK we are letting down our closest relatives in the animal kingdom. I fully support The Monkey Sanctuary Trust’s call to end the trade in primates as pets in the UK and I commend the valuable rescue and care that they provide to the unfortunate victims of this trade.”

Links for more information about the risks of keeping primates as pets:

Aesop Project

Primate Info Net