Gibbons are threatened by habitat loss and the illegal pet trade. Captured as infants after mother killing, pet gibbons face severe welfare deprivation and rarely survive.
Gibbon welfare in the pet trade context is catastrophic at every stage — the killing of nursing mothers, the trauma of capture and transport, the social isolation of solitary confinement, and the dietary and behavioral deprivation of captive life all cause severe suffering. Gibbons are highly social pair-bonded primates with complex vocalizations and extensive locomotory behavior in the forest canopy — none of these needs can be met in typical pet housing. Rehabilitation facilities work to socialize rescued pet gibbons with conspecifics before eventual release, but the process is difficult and not always successful. Prevention through demand reduction and enforcement of wildlife trade laws is far more effective than rehabilitation for addressing this welfare crisis at scale.