ANIMAL CONNECTION

When you see a monkey at the zoo or one on TV there is an irresistible longing to have one of your own.   We even grew up with monkeys like “Curious George”.  I think I’m dating myself.  Without exception, baby monkeys are cute, cuddly, and intelligent.  They also develop strong bonds to their surrogate parent. This goes for the smallest of marmosets to the largest of the apes – the first 6-8 months are delightful – but very messy.

Then one day you realize, the honeymoon is over, reality kicks in.  These “kids” never grow up and it’s like having a special needs child for the rest of your life.  That can be very challenging, ask any parent of a child like this.  It’s a huge commitment!  There are professionals who have the ability to maintain a 30-40 year relationship with a monkey or ape.  Most of us don’t know how to do it properly, or safely, and find it too difficult to keep it up for so many years.

Your monkey may be loving with you, but fly into a jealous rage with other members of your family. You will have to stay homebound most of the time. Your friendships will have to be with like-minded individuals. The majority of your neighbors will consider you the quirky, eccentric neighbor, if these animals are even allowed.  City, County, State and Federal officials will not be favorably disposed toward you.

Monkeys are not “bad pets” or “good pets” that oversimplifies the issue.  It’s the monkey-human interaction that usually becomes the problem. There are many challenges of monkey ownership which include adequate supervision, health care, habitat and environmental enrichment.  Actually, all of these things are important to any type of animal ownership.  For many people, once the mystique of having a monkey has worn off, the animal ages, becoming more demanding, people will spend less time and care less about the animal. Many people are like that with the cute puppy, kitten or baby ferret.  It becomes part of “life” and these animals sometimes are put on the back burner.

Primates are not domesticated animals. They are destructive, messy, possessive, and possess all the basic emotions of human beings but without the inhibitions we have. Because of this, they can be quite dangerous to you, other family members and guests. They are exceedingly fun loving as well as destructive and messy. There are also many legal issues in keeping pet monkeys; the number of laws and regulations regarding their ownership is ever growing.

There are very few veterinarians who will care for monkeys when they get ill or who will perform annual health checkups. These checkups need to include tuberculosis testing, possibly viral testing, vaccinations and blood examinations. Most of its teeth will eventually be extracted to prevent injury to you or other monkeys. Neutering the monkey will not change its disposition. Proper caging is challenging and bulky. Monkeys are masters at escape so the cost to house them properly can be expensive.  Government-approved, indoor-outdoor cages for medium size primates cost hundreds of dollars – thousands of dollars if a professional contractor builds it.

People who purchase monkey as pets tend to feed them the foods they eat themselves. Monkeys that live off generalized human table scraps inevitably do poorly and do not live very long.  All animals should be fed the proper diet. Just because something on the bag or can says, “dog food” or “cat food” doesn’t mean it’s the proper ingredients for that animal.  Animal owners should do research to see what that animal eats in the wild then find store bought food that has the same ingredients on the bag.  A side note: the best treat for any animal is their normal food fed to them out of your hand.  Humans are the ones that developed the “treat”.  Most treats are not good for animals.

If you still want a monkey or ape, you have unlimited financial resources, acreage and enthusiasm, the next thing to consider is what will happen to this poor animal if things don’t work out or if you situation changes in the next 30 – 40 years. You will age too over the 30 years or so. Things will happen in your life and when they do, who is going to take responsibility and care for this monkey? Will he/she have to endure the psychological trauma of loosing its adoptive family and moving to new or poorer facilities or being bulk-loaded in some overcrowded sanctuary? Will the police destroy the animal? Will you be sued over its actions? Will it end up in some roadside carnival? There are many, many more displaced, second, third and fourth hand monkeys in the United States than there are reputable sanctuaries that will accept them.

Monkeys are too social and intelligent animals to make good pets for the vast majority of people. Their childhood dependency and friendliness fade as they mature to adults.  That’s when they generally become aggressive and attack the ones they love with no provocation. The monkeys you see on television or out in public are juveniles, borrowed from the zoo, returned when they become unmanageable and replaced with new infants – a never ending cycle. Adults are rarely seen outside of cages. Even hand rearing an infant primate will not alter this natural change in monkey behavior but will affect the animal for the rest of its life.

Please think long and hard before taking in a monkey, ape or any animal.  Do research so you know what it really needs to live a long, happy and healthy life.  Find a veterinarian that specializes in that type of animal and has had years of training.  Pet ownership is a BIG RESPONSIBILITY!

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