The government has been told that new regulations on keeping primates as pets in England falls short of a full ban.
The new rules make it illegal to keep monkeys, lemurs, and other primates without a license from April 2026.
Critics argued that this is not an outright ban on keeping primates as pets, as promised in the Conservative party’s 2019 manifesto.
A minister said the claims that the regulations do not ban keeping primates as pets are “essentially incorrect”.
The legislation, which was passed by peers on Tuesday, means that private owners of primates – such as chimpanzees, orangutans and baboons – will need to be checked by local authorities to make sure they have the right arrangements in place to properly care for the animals.
Anyone who owns a primate without the appropriate licence could face six months in jail, an unlimited fine, or both.
