How can you tell if something *is* a pet monkey? Sometimes it's hard to tell esp if people label themselves as rescues or sanctuaries or whatnot.
It can be hard to tell. My usual process involves looking for specific red flags: wearing clothes, being on a leash, being inside a human house, doing human activities, and being the subject of internet content that has little to no information, focusing on the cute factor. Lets take an example:
This is Pockets Warhol the capuchin. This photo, and many others on the twitter account @PocketsWarhol, depict Pockets playing with toys, painting, and sleeping in blankets indoors. Additionally, the Twitter account posts from Pockets perspective. This photo was tweeted with the caption âI know that I never want to stop smiling #BeKindToAnimals #AfterLife #storybookmonkeysâ
It is easy to think that Pockets is a pet, and youâd be half right: he used to be a pet before being surrendered to the Storybook Farm Primate Sanctuary in Ontario. So how do we go from seeing this type of content from determining if Pockets is a pet?
1. Context gathering. Just from scrolling through Pocketsâ Twitter, more tweets can be found which indicate more about Pocketsâ care and keeping. Not much, but the background of several pictures and videos indicate an enclosure suited to capuchin needs rather than someones basement or living room. He is also only seen engaging in species safe enrichment including baby-proof childrenâs toys and classic monkey enrichment like sawdust. This still isnât much to go off of, but at this point we would probably see if his caretaker was treating him unambiguously as a pet. If at this stage we saw him wearing baby clothes, being handled inappropriately/like a human baby or a domesticated animal, or being kept in a persons bedroom, yard, or a similarly obviously bad environment. At this point we can go into the next step:
2. Background Research. We know Pockets lives at the Storybook Farm Primate Sanctuary, but is this a real sanctuary or just someone with a farm that keeps ârescueâ exotics? Letâs look. One of the first things you may notice on the website linked from Pocketsâ Twitter bio is an endorsement from Jane Goodall. Pretty solid stuff in their favour, but not every place is going to have an endorsement that so obviously speaks to a high standard of ethics and primate welfare. If you hover over the âAbout Usâ section of the website directory, you can click on the âOur Peopleâ tab. Here we find some info that you are likely not going to find for any sanctuary that isnât the real deal:
A board of directors (7 members)
Staff members (3 caregivers and 2 veterinarians)
Names of all the volunteers
Non-legitimate sanctuaries almost never have this level of transparency. This also allows you to look up individuals such as board members to see what their qualifications are. Real sanctuaries value transparency and tend to be more forthcoming. Seeing âJohn Smith Phd, resident veterinarianâ is a big green flag, whereas âFounded by John and Judy Smith who love animalsâ doesnât say much.
Storybook Farms also has a resources tab for educational information, including a tab on pet primates. They do not say outright that primates should never be pets, but instead emphasize that the needs of primates are most often not met when they are kept as pets and that neglect and poor quality of life is very common. This may seem like a questionable stance, but Storybook Farms is very gentle in their condemnation of keeping primates as pets as they form and maintain relationships with primate pet owners to ensure the welfare of these privately owned animals. Primate pet owners should not exist, but if someone has a pet monkey an all or nothing approach is not going to help them or the monkey. As I mentioned, Pockets used to be a pet, but he was willingly surrendered by his owner who realized that she was not capable of giving him the quality of life he deserves.
3. More critters? Pockets is just one monkey out of all the monkeys and lemurs at this sanctuary, and luckily Storybook Farms has a tab where you can read bios and see pictures of every individual there (yay for transparency and good websites!) From reading through these bios I found quickly that most of the sanctuaries residents live in small groups/couplings that are species appropriate and take the needs of the individuals into account. Inner species relationships are prioritized and care is taken to allow natural, non-human-centric lives.
Remember Darwin the IKEA monkey? He lives here! Because Darwin (a former pet like Pockets) was rescued when he was less than a year old, he has been largely rehabilitated to be more macaque than human and spends his time with his own kind, foraging outside. Unlike Darwin, Pockets was a pet for far longer and consequently is not able to be re-socialized as effectively. Itâs sad, but long term pet primates tend to prefer humans to other members of their own species, are more easily made anxious, require more attention and reassurance, and often have been castrated or have had teeth removed. Because of this, Pockets and others like him require lives that, while not ideal for monkeys, are better for the individual. Pockets was lucky enough to not have been traumatized by life as a pet, and his life looks pet-like because it is all he has ever known and anything different would possibly cause more harm than good.
Hopefully this helps you do your own research! There will always be ambiguous cases, and donât be afraid to be wrong or to not know. There have been some places, pictures, and primates that I have been unable to judge due to lack of information, and it is fine to say you donât know for sure. Feel free to ask more questions if you have them!
