Support the Captive Primate Safety Act

Primates do not belong in households. These wild animals are being bred to satisfy a demand for keeping exotic pets. The Captive Primate Safety Act will help end this trade. 

Did you know... 

• It is illegal to import primates into the United States 
• In the wild, primates live in large social groups 
• Newborn primates are often forcibly removed from their mothers shortly after birth 
• Removing a primate’s teeth is used as a method to try to tame them 
• Since 1990, approximately 300 people have been injured by primates kept as exotic pets 

Help us end the cruel primate pet trade

The Captive Primate Safety Act will ban the private possession of non-human primates acquired after the bill’s passage and require current owners to register their animals so local first responders and law enforcement officials are aware of their presence. The Act will also restrict the transportation or transfer of these animals unless it is between an accredited facility that receives federal animal welfare inspections and restricts physical contact between the public and primates. 

Although the federal Animal Welfare Act provides some protection for non-human primates, it does not protect those animals in private homes. Although some states already prohibit the private possession of some or all primate species, other states fail to provide adequate protection, if any at all, for primates.