Capuchin monkeys are among the most cognitively sophisticated New World primates and have complex cultural traditions. Their welfare in the wild is impacted by habitat loss, the pet trade, and use as working animals.
Wild capuchin welfare is impacted by two primary human pressures: the pet trade and habitat loss. Capuchins captured for the pet trade are typically taken as infants, which requires the killing of the mother — creating direct welfare harm to the adult and subsequent neglect of infant welfare needs in captivity. Infant capuchins require complex social development that private owners cannot provide; without appropriate conspecific interaction during critical developmental windows, pet capuchins develop abnormal social behaviours and psychological problems. In captivity they typically live decades with progressively deteriorating welfare as their complex needs go unmet. In the wild, habitat fragmentation forces capuchin groups into smaller forest patches with reduced food diversity and increased human contact. Road-related mortality is significant in fragmented landscapes. The intelligence and cultural complexity of capuchins means they are capable of sophisticated forms of welfare harm — deprivation affects not just physical wellbeing but the rich social and cognitive lives that define healthy capuchin existence.