Common marmosets and other small New World primates kept in zoos require specialized social housing, complex environments, and family group structures to maintain psychological wellbeing in captivity.
Marmosets are intensely social animals for whom isolation or disrupted social structures represent a fundamental welfare harm. In the wild, cooperative family groups provide not just safety but the social stimulation that is central to marmoset psychological life. Captive marmosets that lack compatible social companions frequently show signs of chronic stress including self-injurious behavior, stereotypies, and abnormal fear responses. Welfare-positive zoo housing provides family group structures, complex multi-level enclosures with varied substrates and hiding spots, regular foraging enrichment, and appropriate UV lighting to support vitamin D synthesis. The welfare challenges faced by marmosets in research settings are even more acute and represent a significant concern for laboratory animal welfare advocates.