Arkansas Swings Closer to a Ban on Pet Monkeys

There are a few things you ought to know about keeping primates as pets. They are long-lived, and they need care and nurturing every day for a lifespan that could stretch into decades. There's at least some risk of disease transmission to humans. Most importantly, they are wild animals, not suited to be pets in just about every case, and, being wild animals by nature, they can also be dangerous to their owners and others.

Those, of course, are just the human-centric reasons why people shouldn't keep primates as pets, omitting the (still being researched) harmful effects on the primates themselves.

Arkansas legislators seem to be getting that, and earlier this week, the Arkansas Senate passed a bill banning the ownership of primate as pets. That bill, SB 901, is up before the Arkansas House for consideration.

It's unfortunate, but a lot of people are just enamored with baby monkeys. The problem is, baby monkeys eventually grow up to be adult monkeys. When they do, they often become more aggressive, more dangerous. The chances of them turning on their owner or another human increase dramatically. For far too many pet primates, their life ends when that happens. Sometimes it ends with a bullet.

It doesn't have to be that way, but the only solution is to prevent people from owning primates as pets.

Born Free USA has been preaching that gospel for years. They've been a leader in protecting primates, especially when it comes to raising awareness of the inherent problems and dangers of primates as pets.

It looks like they've got an ally in State Senator Percy Malone, who wrote SB 901. His bill bans private ownership of primates, as well as breeding and sales to other private owners. There's also a good exemption for sanctuaries, so there will still be safe places for rescued primates to go.

Arkansas has a reputation as being perhaps not the most progressive state when it comes to animal protection laws, but this is a step in the right direction. Malone's bill passed unanimously in the Senate. It's time for us to ask the House to do the same.

Photo credit: Julius!