The Perils Of Keeping Monkey As Pets

Owning exotic animals is both cruel to the animal its self and dangerous to those who care for the animals. Keeping exotic animals as pets is cruel. In the article Do You Really Want a Baby Tiger? by Mia Lewis the author states “The end result is that far too many of these exotic animals spend almost their entire lives in the ‘prison’ of a small cage.” Obviously, exotic animals are meant to be in environments that promote their natural behavior; forcing these animals to be locked up in a small pen

The first focal animal I chose to observe was a female adult spider monkey named Gumbelina who was sitting with a few of the other monkeys that were all sitting and grooming each other. She seemed to be very relaxed and won’t

“Of Primates and Personhood: Will According Rights and “Dignity” to Nonhuman Organisms Halt Research?”, by Ed Yong, is an article that explains the intentions of the Great Ape Project (GAP). The project demands a basic set of moral and legal rights for chimpanzees,gorillas, bonobos, and orangutans. Many countries have taken part of this project such as the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The message of the GAP is that the animals are not property, therefore they believe apes should not be used for experiment or entertainment. However, not everyone agrees with GAP’s rights-based approach. Frans de Waal, from Emory University believes that if we give rights to the apes, why not give rights to other animals such as monkeys, dogs, and rats? Singer says, “Speaking personally, I feel we should extend rights to a wide range of nonhuman animals” and he also says, “All creatures that can feel pain should have a basic moral status.” In the EU, Jane Goodall wants experimentations on apes and all animals to end. Many people are in favor of the GAP

Imagine if you could have as a pet, not only a cat, dog or fish, but you could also have a monkey or a slow loris. They are as cute and as friendly as cats or dogs, but we can’t have them. Why? Because they come from another country. People should be allowed to have exotic animals as pets.

Primates are one of the most interesting mammals on earth, not only because of their complex social structures, but because they hold so many similar characteristics to humans. Primates are often cited as our closest living relatives and on two separate occasions I observed four separate species of primates at the San Diego Zoo that can justify their use of their physical characteristics and behaviors that may be similar as well as different to the other primates and ours.

Despite the fact that they are more like human beings, the two species differ in development rates since for primates it is slower. Both species have a social and legal status since there are laws to protect them. The Great Ape Project ensures that bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans are not used for animal experiments. Primates have helped human beings for a long time to test medicine and vaccines on different diseases faced by human beings. They are also used in space missions for instance in testing whether a certain area supports life.

This paper aims to study the traits of non-human primates. By observing two types of primates including Common Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri sciureus) and Western Gorillas (Gorilla Gorillas), I try to find out their characteristics, pattern of their behavior, and differences between these two primate species. Especially, characteristics and behavior such as social interaction, food acquisition and intelligence will be discussed and compared in this paper. In order to enhance the persuasiveness of my observation, I recorded and examined at least 25 distinct characteristics of both Common Squirrel Monkeys and Western Gorillas. It is also helpful for me to compare these two primates. Apart from exploring the primates’ traits and differentiation between them, this paper will discuss the effects of captivity. How being in captivity and on display in a zoo would influence their behaviors and emotions? The observation was a great success and I have successfully derived with a hypothesis base on our observing data. The ultimate goal of this paper is arousing humans’ awareness of the importance of studying primates.

In most places owning a dog or cat is second nature, but what about a tiger, bear or maybe python? Exotic pet ownership is far from having a clear right or wrong answer but it is in need of a ban for both the protection of animal and owner.For exotic pet owners, owning a wild beast insures a sense of power and uniqueness. It is also their way of contributing to the conservation of a species by having a “backup population” once human population growth and habitat destruction has resulted in extinction (Slater 113). But in reality the ownership of wild animals as pets only helps to damage already fragile ecosystems, both the one from which they came from and the new one in which they find themselves. Animals in captivity are also stripped of a natural life in the wild, free of confinement and unsuitable care. Finally, the risk to humans is very large, injuries inflicted from exotic pets are dangerous and possibly deadly. Bans vary from state to state, ranging from no ban to partial ban to complete ban, but even in states with full bans, exotic pet ownership still occurs. Private ownership of an exotic animal as a pet should be banned in the US, due to disruptions in ecosystems, the dangers that wild animals are exposed too, and the risks to the owners of these pets.

The primary message this page wants to address is that humans are very similar to other primates because humans are primates as well. Many of the similarities can be seen in appearances and genetic code though their behavior is a lot more similar than some would think. The page also wants to convey that it will address some of the ways that human and other primates are similar and different.

There are many primate characteristics that distinguish themselves from one another. I will be comparing characteristics and behaviors between Apes and New World Primates.

People who keep exotic animals as pets do not realize the danger they are putting on the animals or themselves. There have been around 2,000 incidents involving captive exotic pets that have been reported and 75 reported deaths between the years of 1990

Exotic animals kept as house pets are a hazard to the pet owners and any other people around the

Also, around 2010, Zimbabwe was going to capture two of every animals they asked for including rhinos, lions, cheetah, etc. In the european zoos, over 60% of the elephants are captured from the wild.

The question of humanity arises every couple of years, on the topic - should exotic animals be allowed to be kept as pets. Is it humane for the beings who feel pain, give birth, take care of their young like human beings do to be behind bars? According to the National Geographic 66 percent of wild animals are owned privately while the 28 percent of the animals reside in the zoo. Some of the exotic animals can be found as pets rather than in the wild. The estimated number of Tigers kept as pets are between 5,000 and 7,000, which is more than the ones that exist in the wild. Interested buyers can purchase a tiger cheaper than some of the purebred dogs, for the price as shocking as 300 dollars. Though some states in the United States do allow wild animals as pets, it is still illegal in most states or require a license for it. Most of the animals as pets are through illegal routes like underground auctions and smuggling.

Humans have always been a destructive species. Throughout history, and especially recently, humans have been the cause of many species going extinct or threatened of extinction. Primates are no exception to the destructive and damaging effects. Humans feel as if they are superior to other species, even those who are biologically similar to us. Humans feel the need to dominate other species which is one reason primates are being hunted. Many people who hunt primates claim that they are hunting for bushmeat. This statement is true, but it is not necessary in many areas where there are many more sources of protein. Some people in certain areas hunt primates for the sport of it, which is extremely devastating to many different species of primates. There have been some efforts made in order to protect certain species of primates. Another cause for endangered species of primates is deforestation. Some efforts that have been made are nature sanctuaries and creating laws against hunting. What needs to be done in order to decrease hunting and deforestation is education of subject to the people of the areas.