An estimated 5,000 primates are kept as pets in the UK — a practice that welfare scientists, veterinarians and animal organisations overwhelmingly oppose.
Primates are among the worst candidates for pet keeping: they are highly intelligent, intensely social, and have complex environmental needs that no domestic setting can meet. A marmoset kept alone in a house lives in a state of chronic social isolation equivalent to solitary confinement. They are prone to self-injury from frustration, develop stereotypic behaviours, and require specialised veterinary care that most practising vets cannot provide. Unlike dogs and cats, primates have not been domesticated and retain the full set of social and cognitive needs of their wild counterparts. Every aspect of pet primate keeping conflicts with their welfare.