Did you know that primates kept as pets often suffer from malnutrition, deformities and mental anguish?
In the U.S. alone, it is estimated that up to 15,000 primates are being kept as pets.

Unlike dogs and cats, apes and monkeys are not domesticated animals.
They belong in the wild with their mothers and family groups to develop normally and to live fulfilling, healthy lives

Social media enables illegal activity

We’ve all seen viral videos and images of pet primates. Although they may seem cute and we all know people who share these images, every one of these animals is a victim of a multimillion dollar industry founded on suffering.

Baby primates are torn away from their families, their teeth are ripped out, and after they’re sold online they may never see another member of their own species again.

These photos and videos need to be reported as cruelty.

Demand that Facebook and Google make it easier to report that videos and images featuring pet apes and monkeys are cruel.
Also ask them to remove all reported content featuring pet primates.

The Letter

To Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai,

“I am shocked and disappointed about how difficult it is to report posts featuring animal cruelty on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. I am even more appalled that posts containing animal exploitation remain on your social media sites even after they have been reported by concerned users.

While videos and images featuring wildlife as pets may appear cute or funny, they depict animals who are suffering.
Animals who are taken from the wild or ripped from their mothers days after birth.
Animals whose teeth have been ripped out and are suffering from health problems and psychological damage.

Sadly, apes and monkeys frequently feature in these posts. Due to their high level of intelligence and their similarities to humans, primates are popular as exotic pets.
The traits that make them desirable as pets are also the reasons why they should never be kept in captivity. Primates are highly social animals and need to be with their families to live happy and healthy lives. Keeping them as pets is depriving them of their basic needs.

I respectfully urge you to implement the following measures to show you do not condone the mistreatment of animals:

• Provide a clear way to let the users of your social media sites easily report content containing primates, and other wildlife, as animal cruelty.
• Take action when such content is reported, by removing content showing wildlife as pets.

I beg that you help to stop the horrendous pet trade and show you care about the suffering of animals”.

Will you help us get to 150,000 signatures to remove suffering apes and monkeys from social media?
Sign the letter and share it with animal lovers like you.

https://pasa.org/letter-to-end-social-media-support/

And I mean…Everything is offered on social networks.

Little is reported about the trafficking in monkeys as pets.
In contrast to the flourishing ivory business.
But this trade is a terrible global criminal enterprise that catches, sells, or kills billions of monkeys of all kinds when they can no longer be sold.
Typically, privately owned monkeys start biting and get aggressive or nervous and start screaming, then they are simply thrown away, resold, or killed.

In nature, monkeys live in large groups and are considered very social. But they are wild animals and not domesticated like cats or dogs.
So they are not used to living with people.

Monkeys are very active animals and want to move around. Since they run, climb and jump a lot in the wild, animal welfare is simply not possible.

Cute monkeys are also in demand as pets in Germany.
In the German-speaking area alone, over 2,400 monkeys were sold in 2016, including over 800 marmosets!

Wild animals on sale are mostly caught with nets or traps and thus wrested from their natural habitat.

Baby monkeys that are offered for sale are often taken away from their mothers early and sometimes brutally.
During transport, the animals often die due to a lack of space and ventilation, stress or insufficient care.

Primates are among the most traded mammals.
The number increases steadily every year.
According to a 2011 study, an estimated tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of live animals are traded each year.

The animal and nature conservation organization Pro Wildlife searched the Internet for offers for exotic species over a period of five years.
They found offers for more than 10,000 exotic mammals with a total value of over eight million euros.
The way the traders do their business with monkeys makes the mafia look like amateurs.

Our message-Don’t keep monkeys at home!
Humans cannot keep monkeys as pets in a species-appropriate way, they belong in the wild and not in your living room.

My best regards to all, Venus