Keeping Capuchin Monkeys As Pets | RSPCA - RSPCA - rspca.org.uk (2024)

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Keeping Capuchin Monkeys As Pets | RSPCA - RSPCA - rspca.org.uk? ›

Capuchins

Nonetheless, subject to certain restrictions in some circ*mstances, the sale and keeping of primates as pets in the UK and many other countries is currently legal. An estimated 5,000 primates are being kept as pets in the UK, including marmosets, capuchins, squirrel monkeys and lemurs.

The new rules make it illegal to keep monkeys, lemurs, and other primates without a licence from April 2026. Critics argued that this is not an outright ban on keeping primates as pets, as promised in the Conservative party's 2019 manifesto.

They may be adorable as babies, but as they get older, capuchin monkeys can get bored easily, which can lead to increasingly destructive behaviors. They usually end up as incompatible pets, rendering them difficult to care for and resulting in rescue or euthanasia.

These monkeys can weight about 3 pounds and be as long as 14 inches. And love to swing on tree branches. they can cost about $5000.

In captivity a capuchin may live as long as 55 years. Capuchins in the wild live an average of 34 to 36 years (Nowak, 1999).

Capuchins are the most intelligent New World monkeys – perhaps as intelligent as chimpanzees. They are noted for their ability to fashion and use tools. For instance, they have been observed Page 2 using rocks to crack open nuts.

Capuchins, like other primates, don't make good pets. They're unhappy in a home environment and can become aggressive. They need the company of other capuchins and lots of space for exercise, which they simply can't get in a home environment.

Monkeys are highly excitable animals and will relieve themselves whenever and wherever they are upset. Though you may be somewhat successful diapering or toilet-training a young monkey, once the monkey reaches maturity, that training is forgotten or ignored.

They are also quite playful, especially young monkeys. Capuchins of any age tend to be docile, but can become aggressive, even toward human companions, if frustrated or frightened.

Are capuchin monkeys high maintenance? ›

They will collect rocks, store them, and use them as tools to open hard nuts and shellfish. These monkeys learn techniques from their parents and older members of the group, and it can take years to master these skills. In captivity, capuchins require constant enrichment to keep them mentally and physically fit.

Physical Characteristics

Weight ranges from three to 11 pounds. A capuchin's lifespan in the wild is 15 to 25 years; in human care it can be more than 40 years.

Upon first impression, the exchange appears similar to rough housing among human children. Local news outlets have been describing the interactions as a remarkable "friendship" between human and monkeys. It's not the first time accounts have surfaced about people who share strong bonds with our wild cousins.

Help our charity, Wild Futures, protect primates in the UK and abroad by adopting a monkey today. How you are helping primates: Enabling our UK Sanctuary care for monkeys rescued from the pet trade and entertainment industry.

Physical Characteristics. An adult capuchin's body length is16 to 22 inches plus a 17-inch-long tail. Weight ranges from three to 11 pounds. A capuchin's lifespan in the wild is 15 to 25 years; in human care it can be more than 40 years.

Capuchins are prey for larger animals in the forest including jaguars, ocelots, harpy eagles, and tree snakes. But as in the case of many animals, the main threats to capuchins are caused by humans. Monkeys are sometimes taken for the pet trade.