I am looking into buying one and i need to know if they are legal and how i can get a permit to have one as a pet.
VA actually does not require you to have permits for monkeys. However, you will need them for Great Apes. You WILL have to check with your county though. Each county has different laws. If you live in a community you will probably not be allowed to own one.
Before you get a monkey PLEASE talk to other monkey owners. I am a Capuchin owner, though I have also worked with Marmosets, Tamarins, squirrel monkeys, spider monkeys, vervets, and several more. ALL monkeys bite! You are not going to be able to train it otherwise. However, a marmoset is not going to hurt nearly as bad as a larger monkey. Do you know about their diet? Or what kind of housing they need? If you have any questions PLEASE feel free to email me and I will help you. I strongly support private ownership of primates, but only for responsible and educated owners. People purchase baby monkeys all the time and after a year or so they give them up because they can no longer handle the biting. Just be certain what kind of committment you are making and PLEASE educate yourself about their care first!
Monkus83@yahoo.com
September 26th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
I looked it up. Contact your State Game and Inland Fisheries. They regulate pet primates in your state.
References :
September 26th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Monkeys make notoriously bad pets. They can be quite aggressive, needs lots of room and attention. Basically owning a monkey is like having an infant that NEVER grows up. Also, are you aware that small breeds of monkeys can live for up to 30 years? Are you willing to make a lifetime commitment to this animal. You need to do loads of research before you make any decisions. And, getting a monkey contributes to them being taken out of the wild and causing their decline and endangerment. Most likely the monkeys they are selling were taken from their parents AFTER they killed them. The reality is that most pet monkeys end up being euthanized at pounds because the owner did not do research first and had NO idea what they were getting themselves into. If you want a pet, get a domesticated animal, not a wild one. See more info here:
http://petmonkeyinfo.org/index.html
http://www.honoluluzoo.org/pets.htm
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/primates/...
References :
me: wildlife biologist
September 26th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
1-866-721-6911
call up VDGIF and ask.
References :
http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/
http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/licenses/
September 26th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
VA actually does not require you to have permits for monkeys. However, you will need them for Great Apes. You WILL have to check with your county though. Each county has different laws. If you live in a community you will probably not be allowed to own one.
Before you get a monkey PLEASE talk to other monkey owners. I am a Capuchin owner, though I have also worked with Marmosets, Tamarins, squirrel monkeys, spider monkeys, vervets, and several more. ALL monkeys bite! You are not going to be able to train it otherwise. However, a marmoset is not going to hurt nearly as bad as a larger monkey. Do you know about their diet? Or what kind of housing they need? If you have any questions PLEASE feel free to email me and I will help you. I strongly support private ownership of primates, but only for responsible and educated owners. People purchase baby monkeys all the time and after a year or so they give them up because they can no longer handle the biting. Just be certain what kind of committment you are making and PLEASE educate yourself about their care first!
Monkus83@yahoo.com
References :
http://www.youtube.com/junglemonkus
There is a GREAT blog about ownership on my myspace page. You really should read it if you are interested in purchasing a monkey.