Time to Join Us in Taking Action for Wildife! Captive Primate Safety Act Has Been Reintroduced

The Captive Primate Safety Act was successfully reintroduced on May 5, 2025, to the House and Senate!

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While cute, primates are not suitable pets. The entertainment industry and exotic pet trade have exploited primates for years. Over 15,000 nonhuman primates in the U.S. are estimated to live in unsuitable conditions. In California, it is illegal to own primates privately. Nevertheless, there exists an underground world of primate ownership in the United States, where individuals find ways to obtain and bring them into our state. Since 2021, Oakland Zoo has rescued over 90 individual primates—victims of the exotic pet trade, roadside zoos, or other criminal activities. There is no federal law regulating the possession of primates as personal pets. State laws vary widely, from a complete ban on pet primates to restrictions on specific species requiring permits.

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The Captive Primate Safety Act (CPSA) would amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981, federally prohibiting the pet primate trade and protecting these brilliant primates from a lifetime of suffering. The demand for pet primates in the US encourages the brutal international trafficking in these species.  

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You can join us in Taking Action for Primates by contacting your federal senators and representatives (find them here) and asking them to cosponsor the Captive Primate Safety Act using our template letter here.
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Related Stories:

HBO Max's "Chimp Crazy" and the Need to END Private Ownership of Primates

Oakland Zoo Provides Care for Seized Marmoset Monkey

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