California is second to Hawaii when it comes to strict laws about owning an exotic animal.Many of these exotic animals are legal in the neighboring state of Nevada but illegal in California. It is the California Fish and Game Code that regulates the laws regarding which pets in California are legal and which ones are not.The department does not allow any endangered animal species or an animal that might be a potential threat to the safety of the public, wildlife, or agriculture to be kept as a pet. Many of you might have come across the famous capuchin monkey pet, Mally of singer Justin Bieber. This might have perhaps led you to believe that California law allows monkeys to be kept as pets, but this is not the case. Monkeys fall under the primate group of mammals which includes tarsiers, lemurs, monkeys, lorises, apes, and even humans. California law recognizes all species of primates to be a form of potential threat to the health and safety of people living in California, as well as, a problem for the agriculture and wildlife of California, which is why no primates can be kept as pets in California including monkeys.Although there are certain special cases when a monkey can be owned by a person living in California, the criteria is pretty restricted. People who need to pet a monkey for a specific legal purpose are issued permits. The two most common criteria when you can own a monkey as a pet in California is if the monkey is to be used for medical research purposes or it needs to be trained for a performance for a television show or movie. Other than these two conditions, it is illegal in California to keep monkeys as pets. The rules which have been laid down by the California Fish and Game Code in regard to owning a monkey as a pet in California are the same for all monkey species, irrespective of their size. There are a number of other animals as well which aren’t not allowed to be kept as pets in California. It may seem absurd as most of them are allowed to be kept as pets in most other states, and these animals include hedgehogs, squirrels, gerbils, and ferrets. On the other hand, some animals which you can keep as pets in California are zebras, ostriches, toucans, camels, hybrid cats, monitor lizards, wolfdogs or wolf hybrids, tarantulas, American bison, and large constrictor snakes.If you enjoyed this article, why not also read about can monkeys swim and can you have a raccoon as a pet here on Kidadl?Can I own a small monkey in California?The state of California does not allow its citizens to own any kind of a monkey, whether it is a small baby monkey or a full-grown one. The laws are very strict. Monkeys are considered primates and in accordance with the California Fish and Game Code, all primates are thought to be dangerous and are banned from being kept as pets. It is important to have permits if you need to own illegal animals for research or entertainment purposes.Even the smallest of monkeys, such as the pygmy marmoset which have a body size of 4.6-6 in (117-152 mm) along with a tail of 6.8-9 in (172-229 mm), are banned from being kept as pets because they are believed to be a threat to the agriculture and wildlife of the state of California. These monkeys weigh around 3.5 oz (100 g) but are still considered illegal.To better understand the range of monkeys that are considered illegal in California, the exotic Old World monkey species, the male mandrill, is also illegal. We have talked about how small primates are seen as illegal exotic pets, the treatment is no different for big ones. Male mandrills weigh around 77 lb (35 kg) and are nearly 3 ft (1 m) long. There are several other varieties of monkeys depending upon their habitat and diet. Moreover, you can neither own a finger monkey nor a spider monkey in California and keep them as your pet. Both of these monkey species fall under the categories of animals that are illegal in California. Instead in California, you can have birds, cats, or dogs, or even zebras as domesticated pets. In fact, Golden Retrievers are one of the most common dog species in California and America in general.How to own a monkey in California?It is illegal to keep a wild animal such as a monkey as a pet in Los Angeles and in the entire state of California,. A person or a family is allowed to be in possession of a wild animal in the form of a pet such as a monkey only under a number of situations that have been laid down by the Department of California Fish and Game Code.Only a qualified person with a legal reason is allowed to keep such exotic animals as their pets in California. The first situation is when these exotic animals need to be trained in order to play a role in a movie or in a television show. In order to train such an exotic animal, one can legally keep the animal as a pet, abiding by the law laid down by the Department of the California Fish and Game Code. The second situation is when these animals need to be used for medical research. They can be kept as a pet by their owners. The only reason why the state of California has deemed keeping these pets illegal is that they pose a threat to not only public safety but are also dangerous for the agriculture, fish, and wildlife of the state. There have been incidences in the past when these animals have harmed their owners, despite the family following all safety measures. After all, these are wild animals that can bite a human at any time. Additionally, if it is a giant breed of monkey, they pose an additional threat to the health of a person due to their body strength.What if you own a monkey in another state and move to California?The laws laid down by the Department of the California Fish and Game Code do not change depending on whether you buy wild animals in California or buy them in another state and then move to California. Unless the animal is being brought to California for research, medical purposes, or for being trained to be later used in a movie or television series, it is not legal to bring such wild animals into the state of California and keep them as personal pets.For instance, if you live in the neighboring states of Arizona or Nevada, you can have a pet monkey as it is legal in those states, although Arizona does require a license for someone to keep a monkey as a personal pet. If you move to California from one of these two states and are in possession of a wild animal, it won’t be allowed and the officials of the California Fish and Game Code might confiscate your pet wild animal.Some of the other wild and usually domesticated animals that laws in California do not allow to be kept as pets include a chinchilla, squirrel, hedgehog, ferret, and a hamster. The reason behind ferrets being regarded as illegal pets in California is these wild animals pose a threat to California’s native wildlife, especially birds if these ferrets somehow escape.Can anyone legally own any kind of monkey in the state of California?By now, it is well and clear that a monkey is one of those animals that are illegal in the state of California. Except for a couple of special situations, one cannot legally keep a monkey or another wild animal as a pet in California. Permission to keep these exotic animals as pets in California is given to only qualified people who have a reasonable purpose, but at the same time, in case if things go south, the owners are the ones who are responsible for it. It is vital you get permits for keeping any wild animals that otherwise would be considered illegal.Keeping public safety and California’s native wildlife in mind, there are two situations where one can possess these exotic animals even by abiding by all the laws. The first situation is when these wild, exotic animals need to be trained to eventually play a role in a television show or movie. The other scenario is when medical research work needs to be undertaken which requires the researcher to possess primates or a ferret, a squirrel, or a hedgehog. Even though the state permits people to possess these animals under special cases, they are still pretty dangerous and can be a threat to human health because of their bite. The person owning these animals must be aware of the health hazards their exotic pets can cause if not handled properly. This is applicable even when dogs bite someone, the owner is liable for all the medical expenses and further compensation. In California, a number of dogs bite people every year. The mental and emotional trauma caused is also taken into consideration while calculating the compensation to be paid by the person owning the dog.Can you own a monkey with a permit in California?California is different from most of the other American states when it comes to laws regarding exotic pets and especially primates. States including Missouri, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Alabama, West Virginia, Virginia, Washington state, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, South Carolina, and North Carolina do not require any special permits or permission to own monkeys as pets. When it comes to California, things aren not exactly the same as it is illegal to own a pet including a squirrel, hedgehog, ferret, hamster, some birds, or gerbils without a permit for a couple of reasons.The neighboring state of Arizona employs a system that is an amalgamation of the one followed in California and this is followed in most of the other American states. In Arizona, anyone can keep a monkey but prior to keeping it as a pet at home, the owner needs to apply for a permit and seek written approval from an authorizing body. In California, the rules are much stricter. People cannot own a squirrel, a monkey, a gerbil, a hamster, or a ferret without a certain legal purpose. Only scientists for medical, research purposes, zoos, and people who need to train these animals for a television shoot or movie can keep them as pets. No one else for any other reason can adopt an exotic pet in California as it is against the law and there is no way one can do it. They cannot apply for any permit unless they have any of the above mentioned reasons.Ethics Of Owning A Pet MonkeyIf for a moment we forget about whether it is legal or illegal to pet a monkey in some parts of the world and just wonder if it is ethically correct to pet a monkey. Is it dangerous, what should one be aware of, and if in case they have to pet a monkey for research or training purposes, what are the things one should keep in mind? Well, these questions are a whole different ball game altogether.Firstly, a large section of society with the support of certain social activist groups considers petting a monkey to be really cruel. Monkeys are considered exotic pets and cannot be domesticated like cats or dogs such as Golden Retrievers. Some people believe that it is ethically incorrect and cruel to pet a monkey, and keep it in an urban surrounding away from its natural habitat. However, at times for certain purposes, they need to be kept as pets. In case you need to adopt a monkey as a pet, there are a number of key points you should keep in mind beginning from the intensity of the commitment of petting a monkey. Unlike other domesticated pets like dogs and cats who although need the attention of their owners, do not require it all the time, monkeys require 24/7 attention from their owners, and it is like bringing up a small child. In the beginning, monkeys are sweet and cute little animals but things change drastically as they grow up.As they attain sexual maturity around the age of three or four years, they become much more aggressive and dangerous. Additionally, a monkey is used to running around in free space. The best way you can provide a similar habitat is by building a large cage for it. It will probably roam around the house a lot but needs a fixed place at night or when you are not at home. Moreover, studies have shown that monkeys are primates and evolutionary history reflects that humans have evolved from monkeys and then apes signifying that monkeys are quite an intelligent animal breed, they are often curious about a lot of things. You would need to monkey-proof your entire house before you bring a monkey to your home as monkeys cannot be easily domesticated like cats or some other animals. Moreover, before undertaking any step, keep in mind that you would need to comply with the rules of your state about adopting such exotic pets. Do not keep such a pet animal without a permit.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for can you own a monkey in California then why not take a look at capuchin monkey lifespan, or spider monkey facts?
California is second to Hawaii when it comes to strict laws about owning an exotic animal.
