Once
upon a time, most people believed that it was o.k. to capture monkeys
and keep them in zoos and as pets. It was not uncommon to see monkeys
performing as circus acts, and few people thought it cruel. Today,
attitudes are changing, and many people feel that primates deserve
to live in their natural environment. Still, there is enough demand
for pet monkeys and the prices they fetch are high enough, that
many are captured from the forests and jungles every year.
A monkey is
not like your pet dog or cat. They are wild animals who need to
live in the wild with other monkeys. They are very intelligent creatures
who deserve the freedom to live as nature intended them to.
Not that many
years ago, people used to go and capture any animal they wanted
and sell them to zoos and as pets. Now there are laws against taking
monkeys and other animals from the wild. Some people still do it
and smuggle the monkeys from one country to another.
Primates are
also used as subjects in scientific experiments. They are kept in
cages in labs and given diseases or drugs to see what happens to
them. Some people feel this is justified because it will ultimately
save human lives. Others feel that there are other ways of doing
research that doesn't involve animal testing.
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Primate
Captivity 
