I want to buy a monkey.  How do I do it?  Which types could I buy? 
Where do I get one?  How much do they cost?

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Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 10 Dec 2002 04:35 PST

What country do you live in?

-K~

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Clarification of Question by dustyngobler-ga on 10 Dec 2002 06:15 PST

I live in the New Jersey, USA

This is really not a good idea.

" - Pet primates pose a risk to public health and safety through
communicable illness/diseases such as Herpes B, hepatitis, intestinal
pathogens and injuries sustained during sudden and unpredictable
episodes of aggressive behavior.
  - Pet primates are often maintained in inadequate housing and
without consideration for their social and psychological needs.
  - There is an adverse impact on wild populations through the
smuggling and   import of primates which ultimately end up in the pet
trade.
  - Pet primates are unable to contribute genetically to those
conservation programs in which they are needed due to their isolation
from the managed population and also in many cases due to the serious
deficits in their social skills related to their rearing and
maintenance in isolation from others of their kind." From a statement
of 4 primate advisory groups ot the American Zoo and Aquarium
Association  http://www.csew.com/newworldprimate/PetStatement.htm

"The pet trade of primates has a typical cycle. Monkeys are sold as
infants, when they are cute, docile, and similar enough to human
infants... But at about two years of age, the animals become sexually
mature, aggressive, and uncontrollable...Mature monkeys inevitably
will challenge human owners for a higher position in the family
hierarchy. That often means biting, and because they have the lowest
position in the family hierarchy, children, one step above them, often
are the first to get bitten.... Most owners, having paid as much as
$6,000 for their pet, will resell it rather than give it to a
sanctuary or zoo. A monkey may be passed around between naïve,
would-be owners for some time. Because it is uncontrollable, the
animal often is left neglected and isolated in small cage, until it
becomes so obviously psychologically damaged that it cannot be resold
or even given to a zoo."  From "The Monkey Business, Part I: Barrel of
Monkeys, But Not of Laughs"
http://www.vetcentric.com/magazine/magazineArticle.cfm?ARTICLEID=1150

Depending on Country (and state/prov) they may be illegal to keep as
pets.  Many cities also have laws restricting pets.  Special permits
are often necessary, along with a significant amount of training and
expense.

While thay may be cute & fun at times, especialy when young, as they
grow older, they often become more unmanageable and even dangerous.
They definitely are not safe around young children! Substantial
medical bills are likely too, and in colder climates, weather is
definitely a problem.

Hi dustynobler,

Here are couple of articles you might be interested in ---

PET MONKEY - A REALITY CHECK
http://www.monkeymaddness.com/articles/realitycheck.html

OREGON PRIMATE RESCUE
http://www.oregonprimaterescue.com/pets.html

SIGNIFICANT ZOONOTIC DISEASE OF NON-HUMAN PRIMATES
http://netvet.wustl.edu/species/primates/primzoon.txt

Also, in addition to knowing what country you live in, we would also
need to know what state or province, what county and what city,
because regulations regarding primate ownership are inacted at all
levels of government. In other words, your state may allow you to own
a monkey, but your city may have ordinances against it.

Thanks - 

-K~

I really do hope you will reconsider and not buy a monkey, because
I've personally witnessed what this entails.  Long ago, while living
in Illinois in an apartment building my good friend/next door
neighbors did just that.  For the first month it seemed like things
were going to work out just fine.

But things swiftly changed to a very bad situation.  I won't go into
the bathroom habits and how much of the annoyances and odors were not
anticipated.

However, the monkey became quite agitated with it's environment and
housing conditions.  Not a pretty picture.  Finding a vet became a
looming problem when the monkey got an upper respiratory infection
from the cold winter.

The cute monkey became very depressed. Became noisey.  

The end result was a very sick primate, two unhappy owners who
realized they were way in over their heads, neighbors who were
complaining, and a possible eviction.  This cute monkey which cost
them a LOT of money to buy ended up very aggressive and hurt one of
the owners, enough so that a visit to the Emergency Room was
necessary.

Please don't do this to yourself or a "cute monkey".  If you're that
enamored of primates, see if you can get a job helping out at your
local zoo.