Threats to Chimpanzee Survival
Chimps as Pets
Help chimps stay with their families-in the wild.
"If you try to keep them as pets you're creating a mentally disturbed animal in 99.9% of the cases. -Veterinarian Kevin Wright
Chimpanzee and monkey infants are irresistibly cute and affectionate. It might seem that raising one would be just like raising a human child. But the story usually doesn't have a happy ending-for either humans or chimp.
Reality Bites
- How much time is really involved? Owning a chimpanzee is an all-consuming task. Infants normally receive 24-hour attention from their mothers. People overlook the everyday demands of cleaning messes, preparing food, feeding them, and creating new games to stimulate them. Bear in mind, chimps can live 50-60 years.
- Sharing Your Time & Space: Chimpanzee owners often don't travel because they can't find suitable caretakers. Furthermore, chimpanzees are likely to rebel when owners come home late from work or have irregular schedules.
If time is not an obstacle, space will be. Homes are not enough to keep these active animals happy. - Cleaning Up: While infant chimps can be diapered, grown chimps resist diapers and clothing. And then, imagine a toddler having the strength to move tables, pull down curtains and climb to anything put out of reach. It is impossible to train chimps to behave exactly like humans.
- Health Concerns: Chimps are used in medical research precisely because they can have many of the same diseases as humans. These diseases can be transferred easily from them to us and vice versa.
- Aggression: Aggression is a natural aspect of chimpanzee behaviour and it is not uncommon for chimps to bite each other in the wild. Even the most loving chimp may act aggressively towards owners. Chimp owners have lost fingers and suffered severe facial damage.
- Cruelty: Sooner or later, the chimpanzee will be too dangerous to keep as part of the family. Many owners, to delay the inevitable day that the chimp will have to go, will pull the chimp's teeth, put on shock collars and even remove their thumbs in the mistaken notion that this will make it impossible for the chimp to climb the drapes.
- Giving Them Up: The day will come when despite all best efforts the chimpanzee must go. Sadly, they cannot be sent back to Africa and most zoos will not take ex-pets. Tragically, many ex-pet chimps end up in medical research laboratories. Because former owners are asked not to visit, they never realise the horrendous conditions to which they have condemned their friend.
Additional Resources:
Centre for Great Apes provides permanent sanctuary in a safe and enriching environment for orang-utans and chimpanzees in need of long-term life care.
National Geographic News: The Perils of Keeping Monkeys as Pets
"If you try to keep them as pets you're creating a mentally disturbed animal in 99.9 percent of the cases."
International Primate Protection League: The US Pet Monkey Trade
"Yes, I still miss the end of my finger...severe nerve damage left it completely numb, and that was just a deep gash from a squirrel monkey."
We'd like to hear your comments. We are especially interested in words of warning–based on experience–for people who are considering buying any kind of primate pet. Email us as info@janegoodall.ca.
