do you have to have a licence to own a pet monkey in the uk?

Question

but not in a small flat in my house and garden it's huge

Answer 1

Monkeys do not make good pets. There is simply no way to care for them thoroughly or safely in one's home. One of their most basic needs is inclusion in a proper social group of their own species, so the fact that you want "a" monkey is a red flag. (If you're now thinking of having several monkeys, forget it, they'll put you in the hospital in no time.)

Aside from the harm this would do to the monkey and to yourself, think of what it takes to bring one monkey to the USA for the exotic pet trade. The answer is the deaths of countless other monkeys. Primate social groups are so tightly knit that they will defend the babies to their deaths, so those who collect baby monkeys to be sold as pets must first kill all adult members of the troop. Even after that is done, only a small fraction of the babies captured survive the transport. By purchasing a pet monkey, you would be supporting this business and ensuring its continuation.

I am a professional primate keeper at a zoo. One of our gibbons was a victim of this practice. She was kidnapped from the wild as an infant, and her fingers cut off to separate her from her dead mother, to whom she'd been clinging. She then lived as a pet for the first three years of her life, after which her owner had to get rid of her because she had grown too strong and intelligent to keep. She's lived at my zoo ever since. Having been raised by a human, she was never able to learn how to survive among others of her species, so she must be housed alone. My co-workers and I go to great lengths to provide her with the highest quality of life possible. It is a heartbreaking situation, and it exists because of people who purchase primates as pets.

Also worth noting is that, of the hundreds of employees at my zoo, there are only two groups whose job is deemed dangerous enough that they must carry pepper spray on their persons. One is the large carnivore keepers. The other is the primate keepers, and that includes *all* primates, from tamarins and lemurs to great apes.

Answer 2

well first of all you dont really want to own one.They arent good pets, the take MUCH more time and atteition than a dog or cat, or even a bird, they can carry transmittable to human dieases.
I heard that would need a liscence of some sort. why not try adopting one from a specialized organinzation that could help you out.
ut i think they are illegal there.

Answer 3

you need to have a special permit but you cannot buy an imported monkey legally within the uk

Answer 4

Monkeys make terrible pets.

Answer 5

Yes but you can't get one, its illegal.

Monkies belong in the jungle, not some flat in the UK.

Answer 6

it is illegal to own a monkey in the uk

Answer 7

WAT THE HELL... WAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT???