Why You Shouldn't Buy a Pet Monkey

Pet monkey owners might be the reason long-tailed macaques go extinct. If you own a pet monkey or you're seriously considering buying a monkey, you WILL be complicit in their destruction.
As much as I love monkeys, I would never consider buying one for a pet. Before you buy a monkey I highly recommend thinking twice. Owning a monkey, like any other animal, is a commitment for the life of the pet. In the case of a long-tailed macaque that could be more than 15 years. Imagine having a very dependent (and sometimes violently aggressive} toddler for 15 years. Changing diapers several times a day, or chaining the monkey outside so it can freely use the toilet, or left confined in a dank, dirty cage all day, every day are the most common situations for an adult monkey pet. In this video I'll show you the traumatic beginning of the horrid journey from free and wild macaque babies to becoming orphans, ripped from their mums, and sold like trinkets. The life of a pet monkey is always a tale of sorrow and life interrupted. Additionally, the wildlife trade is literally destroying wild macaque populations in Asia and Africa. Even the long-tailed macaques are now listed as ENDANGERED species. I encourage everyone to consider not owning and not advocating or celebrating the ownership of primates as pets. Sources cited in pinned comment. ** I am an amateur primatologist. My informal observations of monkeys and other animals are a hobby. I create videos to share my knowledge. ** #babymonkey #petmonkey #monkeys #macaques #babyanimals #animalrights #animals #wildlife #nature #pets #blackmarket #jakarta #indoensia #thailand #cambodia #asia #advocacy #animalrescue #injuredmonkey #primates
Baby monkeys are often removed from their mother's and the adult females very likely having been killed. Unfortunately, that is 100 percent accurate. I've included links to cited sources below. However, I am talking about my firsthand experience and observations here, in Indonesia, specifically in the video. The street vendors are pretty candid about where the monkeys come from. I filmed the cages openly while chatting with the seller. The response to where the baby came from was "mama was killed." And, while that sounds ambiguous (was the mother hit by a car? Did a person kill her to take the baby? Or did something else occur?), I've spent years researching wildlife trafficking and poaching and I can attest to the strong likelihood that the adult females are taken for bush meat, leaving the babies to be sold as pets. It's a very common mode of operation in wildlife trafficking. I saw it firsthand in Tanzania, Costa Rica, Indonesia and the results in China. I spent time in each of those countries and in most of them I did volunteer work at rescue and rehabilitation centers (Tanzania, China and Costa Rica).
What makes you an "expert?" I literally wrote a book about global poaching and wildlife trafficking, after 4 years of exhaustive research and partnerships with some of the most respected animal rescue organizations in the world. Not plugging my book, but if you want to read about it check out: The Human Snare (2020, by Rick Wood).
Additionally, I was an Animal Control Officer, with the humane society in Western Washington State, and developed criminal cases against exotic breeders, poachers, animal abusers and neglectful owners. This included species from Caimans to small primates. I majored in anthropology. Recently, I took certificate courses in primatology from University of Colorado - Boulder, and Kyoto University. I've volunteered with Jane Goodall Institute's Chimpanzoo program, where I was a trained behavioral observer. For more than a decade I've also volunteered with rescue and response for marine mammal standings, prior to moving to Indonesia. Here, I engage in monkey watching, which is like bird watching, and I just record the data and identity media, like videos and stills. I try to show the daily lives of one specific troop of wild long-tailed macaques that live very near my house. I visit them every week for a few hours, document their lives, and then I write up my observations and post it on my personal website.
Links:
https://www.asiaforanimals.com/
https://theltmproject.org/
https://www.jakartaanimalaid.com/
https://yiari.or.id/

Sources:
https://www.junglefriends.org/monkey-topics/baby-monkeys-at-a-sanctuary/where-do-baby-monkeys-come-from.html https://phys.org/news/2011-08-reveals-baby-monkeys-affected-life.html https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/southeast-asia/youtube-group-monkey-torture-indonesia-b1900135.html https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/news-monkeys-primates-pets-trade-ethics
https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-environment-and-nature-tampa-florida-animals-71cc7b4e49da8a38faea9ee4eee60c02 https://news.mongabay.com/2015/12/200000-of-perus-primates-trafficked-for-pet-trade-or-bushmeat-yearly/ https://www.doi.gov/blog/10-things-poachers-dont-want-you-know-about-wildlife-trafficking