THANK YOU to everyone who took part in the public consultation in July 2023. The law seems to be moving forward but we still need to keep focused!
We are asking our supporters for their help once more- please write to your MP and let them know you support the change in law, and want to see HIGH standards of welfare for all primates licensed to keep privately. It is essential these standards are written into law!
Here is a sample letter that you can download, and use as a template to contact your MP to encourage them to SPEAK UP for primates!
For many years we have been campaigning for Welfare 4 Wildlife; a change in the law to protect over 80 species of monkey which can be kept legally as pets in the UK under current legislation. You can see more details of our petition by clicking here In 2017, the government dismissed our 114,000 strong petition during a parliament adjournment debate, & insisted that current laws are protecting primates. We then launched our campaign on the pet trade in 2018 and asked you to help us STAMP it out- Stop Trade & Abuse of Monkeys as Pets.
Below you can see some of the history of this campaign.
In June 2023, the government announced a public consultation into banning the trade of primates as pets. Thank you to all who took the opportunity to speak up for those monkeys in the pet trade, who have no voice and told the government your views on whether primates should be kept as pets!
The consultation closes on the 18th July 2023, and brings us a step towards changing the law to finally protect primates kept in the UK today!
Please scroll down, and read our past campaign, including our response to DEFRA’s public consultation in 2020 and call for evidence in 2019, which outlines our view on how we think the legislation should change to protect primates.
Monkey World’s Pet Trade Evidence
On October 25th 2019, Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) announced a call for evidence on the welfare of primates kept as pets in England.
This is an amazing step forward, and we are hopeful it will lead toward a ban on the sale of primates as pets in England.
The call for evidence closed on 17th January 2020, and Monkey World submitted a 25 page report on our experience with the pet trade, and our evidence against it.
Here are all the primates rescued by Monkey World from the UK pet trade between 1989 and 2019.
Hear Alison’s response to the debate
See the debate record
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—(Andrew Griffiths.)
RECAP- the problem!
85 species of monkey can be kept legally in the UK as pets without needing a license or register. We think the unregulated trade needs to STOP and the government need to act to protect pet monkeys. The government dismissed our petition calling for a change in the law in 2017. We are asking for the trade to be regulated so that monkeys do not keep falling into the hands of well-meaning but ill-informed buyers. These monkeys often end up back for sale within a few months, at young ages, with a range of social, physical and psychological problems. To date, Monkey World has spent almost a quarter of a million pounds mopping up the mess from the unregulated trade. THIS HAS TO STOP.
What we did
We have been asking our supporters to write to their local MPs and appropriate ministers raising concerns over the plight of the monkeys behind the net curtains. We have also campaigned online selling sites to change their policy, and not allow primates for sale on their sites.
You can find both letters here
Thank you for sending the responses from the government- but many of these letters contained incorrect information!
Success!
After numerous emails to Freeads.co.uk from our supporters, they have now banned all sales of primates online, and have offered their support to our campaign. Your voice will make a difference, so please continue to help us by writing to other sites selling primates!
For more information & our #STAMPitout kit, please email communications@monkeyworld.org where you will be provided with all the information, graphics and videos needed to put forward your argument and spread the word.
Please keep sharing our posts on social media with the #STAMPitout. We will be posting the logo & stories of our pet trade victims regularly on social media, and need you to share them far and wide. If you have any celebrity friends, with large online followings, see if you can get them to tweet/ share it too.
Print off the logo and create a video asking the UK government to help us STAMP out the UK pet trade in primates. We’ll be posting videos from around the park too, so if you don’t fancy getting in front of the camera, share one of ours.
THANK YOU
