MEP Visits Wild Futures Monkey Sanctuary in Looe

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 31st Mar 2010

On the 31st March, just days after the Wild Futures Monkey Sanctuary opened its doors to the public for the 2010 season, staff were delighted to welcome Member of European Parliament for the South West, Graham Watson, through the gates on a special visit.

Mr Watson met with Wild Futures' Campaigns Officer, Brooke Aldrich, to express his concern about the worrying trend to keep primates as pets in the UK; something which the charity has been campaigning against now for a number of years.

Speaking on the day, he said:

"Primates are not pets. They belong in the wild; or if this is not possible, at least in places where they can be looked after by people who understand their physical and psychological needs. We need to review the law to protect primates from a trade which decimates their numbers in the wild".

He added:

"I am impressed by the work being done here by Wild Futures to raise awareness of those issues".

Ms Aldrich said that these comments couldn't come at a more relevant moment, with a code of practice introduced by DEFRA in January of this year formally coming into force today. The code aims to offer guidance on the application of the Animal Welfare Act, and is the first set of guidelines of its kind in the UK to assess welfare needs of primates in captivity.

She added:

"We are already seeing the code taking effect, with comments coming back to us that those in charge of enforcing animal welfare standards can now do so with confidence, so we hope that this will lead to much improved standards for captive monkeys. Having said this, no code of practice can provide a monkey with what it really needs - its freedom, so we will continue to campaign until we see a complete change in the law in the UK, and the trade in primates as pet is made illegal".