The Monkey Sanctuary Comes to the Rescue Again

Wild Futures’ Monkey Sanctuary based near Looe, Cornwall has come to the rescue again to rehome 8 capuchin monkeys.  The new monkeys originally came from a zoo that closed down in the South East of England.

Monkey Sanctuary staff worked hard to plan the rescue in order to make it quick and as stress free as possible for the monkeys.  Using innovative techniques and specialist equipment designed by the Facility and Keeper team at the Sanctuary all 8 monkeys were captured in less than an hour.

Since arriving at The Monkey Sanctuary, the new monkeys have been busy exploring their new environment in the large wild enclosures.

One of the new capuchin monkeys, a 3 year old male is currently known as “Dexter”.  “Dexter” is a well-known character in a series of Hollywood blockbuster films, played by a monkey “actor” named Crystal.  Wild Futures continues to campaign to end the primate pet trade; a practise that is still legal in the UK.  Research suggests there is an inextricable link between the use of primates in entertainment and the pet trade.  While the name “Dexter” does provide a good talking point about the problems with using primates as entertainers, Wild Futures is wary about appearing to support or condone this damaging practice.

Brooke Aldrich, Campaigns Manager stated: “Whenever a monkey appears as an “actor” in the mass media, the number of inquiries that we at Wild Futures receive about how to obtain a pet monkey seems to increase.”

Wild Futures has therefore made the decision to give this young monkey a new, less controversial name.  So this week the charity has launched a re-name competition on its facebook page at www.facebook.com/wildfutures where members of the public are invited to suggest a new name for Dexter.  A prize will be awarded to the winning name which includes a family ticket to The Monkey Sanctuary and a meal for 4 at the Sanctuary’s Treetop Café.

Hayley Dann, Head of Income Generation and PR stated: “We are pleased with how well the new monkeys have settled in so far.  The Monkey Sanctuary opened this week for the season and visitors have been really interested in hearing about their progress.  They are not on view yet because it takes a while to integrate new monkey arrivals to the Sanctuary; however people can watch their progress on facebook and we hope many people get involved in the re-naming competition.