Prime Minister States Charity Offers a “Very Strong Case” on Primates as Pets
On the 9th July 2010, at a public event marking the first time that David Cameron has visited Cornwall since his election, Wild Futures’ campaigns staff took the opportunity to ask the Prime Minister what his government intended to do on the issue of keeping primates as pets in the UK. After admitting that he had “absolutely no idea” about the current policy governing the cruel, and still legal, trade in this country, he allowed the charity’s representative to explain the case to him.
Following a brief explanation on the issues facing these sentient and intelligent wild animals when kept in captivity and the lack of effective welfare legislation in place to protect them, Mr Cameron stated that Wild Futures has a “very strong case” against the keeping of primates as pets, adding that he would endeavour to look into it.
Said Brooke Aldrich, Campaigns Manager for Wild Futures:
“We are delighted that the Prime Minister has supported our campaign so expressly, but his admission that he was unaware of current legislation and policy will mean that we will be following this up with his team in the near future. We are keen to see action taken on this front, and we would hope that David Cameron will fulfil his promise to us to look into it”.
Wild Futures’ Monkey Sanctuary is home to 24 monkeys, all of which have been rescued, either directly or indirectly, from the UK and international pet trades. Wild Futures have been campaigning for a change in UK law to outlaw the keeping of monkeys as pets for almost a decade and have been instrumental in the development of stringent guidelines for the keeping of primates privately, which were released in April 2010 by DEFRA*.
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Notes to Editors:
Wild Futures (Charity reg. No. 1102532) is an educational and environmental charity promoting the welfare and conservation of primates, and working to end the abuses of primates in captivity. Its flagship project, The Monkey Sanctuary, in Cornwall, is home to victims of the primate pet trade. Drawing on over 40 years of primate expertise, Wild Futures acts as an advisory body to sanctuaries and conservation organisations in the UK and overseas and advises DEFRA on UK animal welfare legislation.
Question posed to the Mr. Cameron:
“Conservationists, primatologists (including the membership of the International Primatological Society) and nearly 80% of the British public agree that primates are unsuitable to be kept as pets due to conservation implications, animal welfare implications and human health and safety concerns. It is still legal in the UK for primates to be kept as pets and current legislation is insufficient to ensure their welfare. What does the Government propose to do about this?”
*The code can be found by visiting:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/cruelty/documents/primate-cop.pdf
For more information please contact:
Rachel Hevesi
www.wildfutures.org +44 (0) 1503 262 532