Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

Re: Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

Marie Kubiak — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:40:35 GMT

There is this question of what happens to these animals long-term. I tend to find people get bored/injured and fob them off on other equally clueless people and there is a trail of owners until the animal is lost track of.

I know most zoos now won't take them on. We certainly won't have pet primates in our collection. Trying to integrate a mentally and physically screwed up primate into a group is a nightmare and they are a risk to our conservation primates. Plus BIAZA gets understandably anxious about diseases from a completely unregulated source and then we have to spend a fortune on screens and quarantine and doing a pet owner a favour impacts negatively on the zoo.

A few private 'rescues' will take them on but this seems rare. I suspect many quietly die after a miserable life. (Ok there are a few decent owners but they are a very small minority).

Exotic medicine can be very depressing!

Marie

Re: Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

Alan Tevendale — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:43:25 GMT

I really hate to hear of stories like this. My experience is that they almost always end up being rehomed to some zoo somewhere.

Re: Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

Mark Rowland — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:31:30 GMT

[quote user="Rob Davis"]

It has a history of intermittant waxing and waning lameness, [/quote]

Sounds like its already a victim of inappropriate husbandry

Re: Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

Rob Davis — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:01:44 GMT

The client arrived with said marmoset yesterday evening. It is kept alone. It is allowed to run around the house and interact with all and sundry. It is a young male. Having read the information that Mark gave a link to, I think he may be in for a nasty surprise when he hits puberty....

I opted not even to allow him to get it out of the box. It has a history of intermittant waxing and waning lameness, and I redirected him to a local colleague who I had already spoken to who deals with them from time to time. Should never be kept as a pet in my opinion, and I'm surprised to learn that no licensing is required.

Re: Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:29:24 GMT

[quote user="Mark Holmes"]

[quote user="Mark Rowland"]It's made harder by the removal of animals like sloths from the dwa list.[/quote][quote user="Martin Atkinson"]these are animals that should be in the wild or at the very least in properly managed zoo, not kept as pets by idiots [/quote][quote user="Marie Kubiak"]

These are social active animals and really aren't happy as single animal/indoor pets.

[/quote][quote user="peewit"]

They're not DWA animals so no licence required

[/quote][quote user="Rob Davis"]client coming in tomorrow with a marmoset.[/quote]

People depress me FFS

[/quote]

If we think it is bad here it is difficult to contemplate the cruelty and neglect caused in the third world by irresponsible people keeping wild animals as pets where they have next to no regulation or at best it is ignored and not policed. It makes my blood boil.

Re: Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

Mark Holmes — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:53:08 GMT

These are social active animals and really aren't happy as single animal/indoor pets.

[/quote][quote user="peewit"]

They're not DWA animals so no licence required

[/quote][quote user="Rob Davis"]client coming in tomorrow with a marmoset.[/quote]

People depress me FFS

Re: Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

Mark Rowland — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:51:50 GMT

Yep I know I do and I'm 100% sure Marie discourages their ownership when the enquiries come. The problem though is the potential for that enquirer not to come to us when there are husbandry advises to be made and the pet suffers as a result. It's made harder by the removal of animals like sloths from the dwa list. This is one issue there should be very strict guidelines on . I suggest a sub dwa licence of some sort with compulsory check ups to ensure diligence from the clients.

Re: Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:37:08 GMT

[quote user="Marie Kubiak"]

No, anyone can own them. We see quite a few and insist on a 30minute husbandry and disease discussion for anyone registering a primate.

[/quote]

Herein lies the most likely problem. There was a recent report about someone being prosecuted by the RSPCA for keeping a marmoset in a parrot cage. What would worry me most is not that I know next to nothing about marmosets (or any other exotic animal primate or otherwise) but that these are animals that should be in the wild or at the very least in properly managed zoo, not kept as pets by idiots who have little or no knowledge of their welfare and have them only as a curiosity or a status symbol. I have a client who specialises in rescuing exotic pets from just such scenarios and finds them sanctuary in a correctly managed facility and thus see or at least hear about the consequences of this folly rather frequently and some of his tasks involve animals far more exotic than marmosets: from tigers to elephants!

Re: Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

Rob Davis — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:37:36 GMT

Mark, you're a star! Many thanks for that, lunchtime reading...

Re: Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

Mark Rowland — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:14:55 GMT

http://www.exoticpetvet.net/primate/callitrichid.html

Femoral vein for blood draw if required

Re: Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

Rob Davis — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:07:36 GMT

Many thanks for this. Can you give me any links to basic information as I know nothing about them... If it is anything other than straightforward I will suggest referring to somebody with more knowledge than me!

Re: Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

Marie Kubiak — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:52:28 GMT

No, anyone can own them. We see quite a few and insist on a 30minute husbandry and disease discussion for anyone registering a primate.

Callitrichids are much lower risk in terms of zoonoses than African/Asian species but I always wear gloves to handle them and GA to do a proper exam/tests. Worth recommending faecal cultures for zoonotic enterobacteriaceae (Pinmoore do a nice screen) and TB testing from a human health point of view as well as rads to assess potential metabolic bone disease.

These are social active animals and really aren't happy as single animal/indoor pets.

Marie

Re: Do you need a license to keep marmosets?

peewit — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:35:42 GMT

They're not DWA animals so no licence required

.... they're quick! Be prepared for it.

On a serious note I hope you're up to date on Hep B/Rabies etc vaccs