Written question asked by Mark Pritchard (Conservative) on Monday, 11 July 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 13 July 2011. It was answered by James Paice (Conservative) on Thursday, 11 August 2011 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Primates: Pets

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of primates kept as pets in England.

Answer: Estimates of the numbers of primates kept by private ownership in England vary considerably. The working group that drafted the Code of Practice on the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-Human Primates estimated the number to be between 900 and 1,600, and used the mid-range figure of 1,200 in calculations (held by an estimated 300 private owners, i.e. not zoos or rescue centres).During consultation on the code, several respondents provided alternative higher estimates based on some Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 licences issued and sales figures of primates. From the consultation's summary, most respondents estimated that there were between 1,500 and 7,500. We acknowledge that numbers of primates in private hands is difficult to estimate, but we have used the figure of 1,200 to 5,000 to demonstrate the sort of costs owners might be expected to meet, as a result of the code.

Secondary information