There is nothing better than having a furry, adorable, travel size monkey, right? Even Justin Bieber has a little capuchin monkey named Mally! However, the reality behind having a primate as a pet is completely different from how we picture it. Debby Leahy, a manger of captive wildlife protection for the Humane Society, explained that monkeys like to interact in an environment consisting of other monkeys. Also, primates that are sold as pets are taken away from their mothers at a very young age and are taken care of by humans. Since these primates live their whole lives in an environment dominated by humans, they never learn how to behave accordingly as primates. Leahy also states that monkeys are not as friendly as they seem. In fact, they are very strong and when they reach sexual maturity, they become aggressive and could injure their owners. Humans often don't want to deal with these uncontrollable being and keep them in a cage, pull out their teeth to prevent biting, or send them to a pseudo-sanctuary. Lastly, monkeys carry dangerous zoonotic diseases that sometimes have a very high mortality rate. Overall, primate trade is inhumane and hazardous to both the primates and their owners.
NOS Themes
Science is based on evidence. There was a story in the article about a woman whose pet monkey became aggressive and attacked her. Her experience is evidence that monkeys can become aggressive.
Role of motivation. Debby Leahy is motivated to prevent primate trade because it is dangerous for the monkeys and their owners.
Science is tentative. It seems like primate trade is recently occurring and scientists have to find more information on it to keep it from continuing.
No comments:
Post a Comment