Call for evidence outcome

Welfare of primates as pets in England: call for evidence

• From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
• Published: 25 October 2019
• Last updated: 12 December 2020 — See all updates

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

This call for evidence has closed

Read the full outcome

Summary of responses and way forward

PDF, 4.3 MB, 39 pages

Detail of outcome

We received 215 responses to this call for evidence. These were made up of 119 individual responses and 96 campaign responses.

Following the call for evidence, the government will take forward a public consultation on the welfare of primates as pets.

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Original call for evidence

Summary

Seeking evidence on the welfare of pet primates in England.

This call for evidence ran from
12:15am on 25 October 2019 to 5pm on 17 January 2020

Call for evidence description

We’re asking for evidence to understand more about the welfare of pet primates in England. This includes the numbers and species of primates being kept as pets, and the potential effect any restrictions would have on their welfare. This includes all species commonly referred to as lemurs, monkeys and apes.

In particular, we’d like to know more about:

• the number and types of pet primates
• how they are acquired and kept
• whether the current Code of Practice is sufficient to ensure the welfare of pet primates
• what the effects of any restrictions would be on primate welfare
• how any restrictions might be enforced, and any exemptions that should be considered
• the potential impact of restrictions on rescue centres and animal welfare charities

Documents

The welfare of primates as pets in England: call for evidence

HTML

Published 25 October 2019
Last updated 12 December 2020 + show all updates

1. 12 December 2020

   We've added the summary of responses to the call for evidence.

2. 25 October 2019

   First published.