3 The scope and scale of the problem
The number
of primates kept as pets
13. Witnesses quoted a wide range of estimates of
the number of primates kept as pets. Most agreed that the numbers
given were, at best, informed guesses. At one end of the scale,
wildlife charity Care for the Wild International told us that
"Within the UK, it is estimated that there could be as many
as 15,000-20,000 primates as pets".[34]
This seems to have come from figures quoted by primate keepers
and dealers.[35]
14. A lower estimate was provided by Wild Futures
and the RSPCA. Using data obtained from Freedom of Information
(FOI) requests on the number of individual primates licensed under
the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 (DWAA), the two charities
suggested that between 2,485 and 7,454 primates were being privately
kept throughout England, Scotland and Wales in 2009.[36]
These numbers included estimates of rates of non-compliance with
licensing requirements. By 2012, the lower bound figure for privately
kept primates had increased by 21%. Wild Futures said in written
evidence, "We now estimate that there are between 3,006 [and]
9,017 privately kept primates in Great Britain".[37]
15. In February 2014, Ros Clubb, Senior Scientific
Officer at the RSPCA, and Rachel Hevesi, Director of the charity
Wild Futures, acknowledged that this estimate was "very much
a guesstimate"[38]
but said that the figures were borne out by the proportion of
animals arriving at the Wild Futures Monkey Sanctuary without
a licence. However, Andrew Greenwood, a member of the British
Veterinary Zoological Society (BVZS), told us that "the numbers
are way overestimated, possibly by a factor of 10. The numbers
of primates in this country is probably fewer than 1,000. We have
had figures cited up to 9,000; they are completely out of the
air".[39]
16. Defra has admitted the absence of accurate figures
on the numbers of pet primates in the UK. In written evidence,
it said: "it is not clear how many primates are kept privately
in this country-the estimates range from 2,500 to 7,500. These
are rough estimates based around numbers of 1976 Act licenses".[40]
Primatologist and consultant in animal welfare, Lisa Riley, told
us that without further research, there was little chance of building
up a more accurate picture of the pet primate population in the
UK:
The number and species of primates kept in the
UK is unknown, partly due to a lack of regulation and partly due
to a lack of enforcement of existing legislation ... Without a
national survey of pet keeping [,] numbers will only ever be estimates
and thus the proportion of primates being kept well and those
who are neglected or abused remains unquantifiable.[41]
The size of the primate pet trade
17. Similar uncertainty exists about the size of
the primate pet trade. The RSPCA pointed out that "obtaining
accurate data on the extent of the trade ... is extremely difficult
due to a lack of regulation and the fact that most trade appears
to occur in private".[42]
The Animal Protection Agency, an organisation focusing on the
trade in wild animals as pets, agreed:
The scale of the primate trade is impossible
[to] gauge as it is largely unregulated. Much of the trade is
also clandestine. Primates are rarely found on sale in pet shops
but, in some cases, can be ordered on request ... [Primate sellers]
may use ... outlets such as password-protected forums and Facebook
etc-methods that are common for other exotic animal traders.[43]
18. A further obstacle to accurate estimation of
trade size is the existence of bogus or scam advertisements for
primates on the internet. Animal protection charity OneKind observed
that:
It is ... difficult to measure the size of the
trade on the basis of internet advertising, as this sector appears
to be particularly vulnerable to "scamming", a fact
that is regularly referred to in advertisements. This may be connected
[to] the high cost of primates, from several hundred to several
thousand pounds each.[44]
Lord de Mauley told us that:
It is quite difficult [to measure the size of
the trade by looking at advertisements] because I understand that
there are quite a lot of bogus adverts; in fact, I suspect the
majority of adverts are bogus and designed to defraud people.
As I say, it is quite difficult to get a handle on an accurate
number.[45]
19. An alternative view was expressed by Blue Cross,
an animal charity and member of the Pet Advertising Advisory Group
(PAAG). Blue Cross recently analysed the live advertisements for
primates on the website UK Classifieds. It told us:
There are around 350 live adverts concerning
primates on UK Classifieds, [which are] split between those offering
primates for sale and those seeking to buy a primate. In our opinion
the majority of these adverts are genuine and not bogus or fraudulent.
We are able to conclude this is the case by examining photographs
for repeat images: examining vendor history on the site, and identifying
trends.[46]
20. As with primate pet keeping, the absence of robust
evidence on the size of the trade has allowed a wide range of
views to flourish. The Reptile and Exotic Pet Trade Association
(REPTA) considers that while, "There has, historically, been
a small trade in primates as pets, predominantly wild-caught animals
imported in the late nineteenth to late twentieth century ...
today such a trade is non-existent".[47]
Conversely, Lisa Riley pointed out that "If you Google 'monkey
for sale in the UK', it is clear there is a huge problem and vast
availability, particularly of deregulated species and marmosets".[48]
Undertaking further research
21. The Minister indicated a lack of appetite to
undertake independent research on the scale and scope of the problem:
I am doubtful that it would be a good use of
resources to carry out a detailed survey. It would be an exercise
fraught with practical difficulties, and it would be expensive
to get anything near a reliable figure. Given the size of the
problem, as suggested by the majority of welfare charities, it
would be difficult to justify it.[49]
22. This argument is circular in nature. The Government
does not have accurate figures for the numbers of primates kept
and traded as pets but says that it does not want to conduct research
to obtain these figures because the size of the problem does not
justify it.
23. Wild Futures also told us, however, that "it
would be wasteful of resources to attempt to research these figures
further" given the numbers of primates that do not require
licences and also the high rate of non-compliance with licensing
regimes.[50]
24. We have been struck by the wide range of estimates
of the numbers of primates both kept and traded as pets in the
UK, as well as the lack of confidence in these numbers expressed
by many witnesses.
- We recommend that Defra commission independent
research on the number and type of primates being traded and kept
as pets in the UK. To increase the reliability of this research,
we recommend that private keepers be given six months to register
their primates before research begins. This call for registration
should be supported by a publicity campaign explaining the benefits
of registration, or a sanction. The Government should inform us
of the results of this research within six months of receiving
them, along with its plans for securing the welfare of pet primates
in light of these results.
34 Care for the Wild International [PAP 9], para 3(a) Back
35
RSPCA and Wild Futures, Primates as Pets: Is there a Case for Regulation?,
July 2012, p.10 and RSPCA [PAP 36], para 8. Back
36
RSPCA and Wild Futures, Primates as Pets: Is there a Case for Regulation?,
July 2012, p.10 Back
37
Wild Futures [PAP 10], para 6. Back
38
Q 4 Back
39
Q 29 Back
40
Defra [PAP 27], para 5.1 Back
41
Lisa Riley [PAP 24], p.2 Back
42
RSPCA [PAP 36], para 1. Back
43
Animal Protection Agency [PAP 28], para 4. Back
44
OneKind [PAP 26], para 5. Back
45
Q 51. Back
46
Blue Cross [PAP 44], p.1 Back
47
Reptile and Exotic Pet Trade Association [PAP 11], para 4. Back
48
Q 28 Back
49
Q 55 Back
50
Wild Futures Supplementary
[PAP 46], p.1 Back
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