BVA calls for ban on keeping primates as pets

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has urged the government to introduce a ban on keeping primates as private pets in the UK.

Responding to an Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee inquiry on the issue, the organisation has voiced its view that it is impossible for private owners to provide these long-lived, intelligent and socially complex animals with appropriate care.

The BVA said it has considered the possibility of raising their standard of living through better regulation or licensing, but members do not believe any of these options go far enough to addressing the basic welfare issues that are currently being seen.

It recommended that the only exception to the ban would be for individuals working in partnership with accredited zoos to breed primates for conservation purposes.

BVA president Robin Hargreaves said: "These animals are not domesticated companions like dogs and cats, or even livestock, and are extraordinarily difficult to care for properly. Very few people can provide the necessary resources to meet their welfare needs."

The association is also currently lobbying for the compulsory microchipping of all dogs in Scotland, bringing the country in line with laws already in place or pending in Northern Ireland, Wales and England.