Capuchin monkeys are among the most cognitively sophisticated New World primates. Their welfare faces threats from habitat loss, the exotic pet trade, and human-wildlife conflict in agricultural areas.
Capuchin welfare is compromised by the same forces affecting most Neotropical primates: habitat loss reducing food availability and population connectivity, pet trade capture causing infant trauma and adult mortality, and agricultural conflict leading to persecution. Their high cognitive complexity makes them particularly sensitive to the understimulation of captivity — pet capuchins frequently develop stereotypic behaviors and psychological problems. Supporting forest conservation that maintains connected habitat for wild capuchin populations is the highest-impact welfare intervention. Anti-pet-trade education and enforcement protects both mothers killed in capture and the infants whose welfare in inappropriate captivity is severely compromised.