Tickets please: monkey abandoned on London bus

An investigation has been launched after a monkey was found abandoned in a cage on a London bus.

RSPCA officers say the cage containing the female common marmoset, which has now been named Oyster, was also hidden inside a laundry bag when it was discovered on Friday, 17 July.

They fear the incident, which they are treating as “clearly intentional”, may be linked to the implementation of tougher rules governing the keeping of primates as pets.

New system

Clare Dew, the charity’s London chief inspector, said: “I’d be surprised if it’s the last primate we see being dumped.”

Under the new rules, which came into force in April, keepers of the estimated 5,000 primates housed as pets in England must now be licensed and meet “zoo-level” welfare standards.

But while it maintains the measures are a step forward, the RSPCA is worried about the fate of many of them, amid reported low take-up of the new system.

‘Real concern’

Senior scientific and policy advisor Evangeline Button said: “There is a real concern that keepers who cannot or do not want to license their pet may now instead abandon them.

“Ultimately, we believe primates should not be kept as pets. We want to see a future where monkeys are no longer kept in homes but protected in environments that truly meet their needs.”

Oyster is currently being cared for at a specialist sanctuary which had itself been looking for a female companion for its own lone male marmoset.