Thousands of primates are kept as pets globally, experiencing severe welfare compromise from inappropriate social and physical environments, while posing disease transmission risks to human owners.
Primates kept as pets suffer from social isolation — they are adapted to complex social groups — and from the inability to perform natural behaviors in domestic environments. Solitary confinement in human homes causes severe psychological distress including self-harm behaviors. As primates mature, behavioral problems arising from welfare compromise make them difficult to keep, often resulting in abandonment.