Can we eliminate the primate pet trade in the United States?

Abstract

International laws and conventions have gone a long way in reducing the number of wild primates entering the United States of America (US) for the pet trade. However, breeding primates for sale to private owners in the United States continues, and individual states present a bewildering array of laws and regulations on the holding of primates as pets. As primatologists we can act to decrease the demand for primate pets by (1) speaking out on the inappropriate use of primates in mass media and especially in social media; (2) not posing in photographs in close proximity to primates; (3) continuing to educate about why primates do not make good pets; and (4) contributing to the science that underlies state and federal legislation with the goal of eliminating captive breeding of primates for the pet trade. We encourage primatologists and others in related fields to be cognizant of the persistent commercialization of primates and be willing to take action to deter it.

Global wildlife trade and trafficking contribute to the world’s nonhuman primate conservation crisis

“…Primate trafficking can generally be partitioned into three activities that vary in scale. Locally, the hunting and trapping of wild primates for meat, pets, or traditional medicine often occurs for personal use or small-scale commerce (Conroy, 2023;Norconk et al, 2023;Chavez et al, 2024). This type of illegal trade is best described as opportunistic, loosely organized, and occurs principally across neighboring communities.…”

“…In the U.S., it is legal to own primates as a pet in 25 states (Norconk et al, 2023). A one year-study in the U.S. identified 551 pet primates legally reported as captive bred for sale, including marmosets, lemurs, capuchins, and squirrel monkeys (Seaboch and Cahoon, 2021).…”

“…Trafficked animals are rarely tested for the presence of pathogens, and significant mortality has been reported in animals during transport or shortly after arrival at their destination (Maher and Sollund, 2016). Despite the fact that primates host numerous viral diseases potentially infectious to humans, only limited effort has been made to end the sale of primates as pets (Devaux et al, 2019;Norconk et al, 2023;Mendoza et al, 2024). Pathogen exchange between humans and primates also can occur in laboratories, even after the post-quarantine period (Badihi et al, 2024).…”

“…A first step in identifying sustainable solutions to reduce primate trade and trafficking, is working with concerned local, national, and international partners to develop culturally and economically appropriate policies that view primates as having a greater societal 'value' when thriving in their natural environment, than as pets, trophies, part of the commercialized wild meat industry, or exploited in videos and social media (Cardoso et al, 2021). In this regard, we encourage national and international primate societies, NGOs, global citizens, and governmental agencies worldwide to work collaboratively to create knowledge sharing and behavioral programs that are designed to educate and change the public perception of primates, end the portrayal of primates as suitable pets, discourage wild primate meat consumption by people who have access to other sources of protein, and work towards removing primate entertainment/ cruelty videos from the internet and mass media (Norconk et al, 2020;Aldrich et al, 2023;Norconk et al, 2023). Movie and social media companies hold great power and responsibility in ending the use of primates as online entertainment (SMACC, 2023).…”